Moderate visibility for ‘LAX’

NBC’s “LAX” took off with decent numbers and ABC’s “The Benefactor” had an acceptable debut Monday, but the latter show may need more than Mark Cuban’s millions to become a breakout hit as the fall ’04 television season continues its slow rollout.

“LAX,” which stars Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood, averaged 13.1 million viewers, comparable to what “Las Vegas” debuted to last year in the 10 p.m. Monday time slot. “Las Vegas” returned for its sophomore season at 9 p.m.

“The Benefactor,” in which Internet billionaire Cuban is giving away $1 million, averaged 9.7 million at 8 p.m., trailing NBC’s “Fear Factor,” the time slot leader with 10.3 million viewers.

It’s still too early to fully assess either debuting show, particularly since CBS hasn’t yet aired original episodes of its Monday series. In addition, ratings for “Benefactor” were skewed because it aired at 9 p.m. on the West Coast and 8 p.m. in the eastern part of the country.