According to overnight estimates, BBC1's Holby City netted 6.2m viewers between 8pm and 9pm. Survivor, which aired between 8.30pm and 9pm, drew just 21% of the national peaktime UK TV audience share, compared with ITV's average of 37% of peaktime viewers.
Its debut on Monday drew just 6.6m -- just slightly ahead of the last episode of Clocking Off on BBC 1 which drew 5.9m viewers.
However, ITV's last reality TV show Popstars, which followed the selection and creation of a manufactured pop band, kicked off with 7m viewers and grew to 12m by the end of the series.
In the US, Survivor's ratings doubled in the first three weeks and Channel 4's ratings goliath Big Brother started with just 3.6m viewers before burgeoning to 10m by the end of the series.
The second series of Big Brother is set to kick off on Channel 4 this coming Saturday at 9pm with a second helping on Sunday.
ITV is understood to be relying on Survivor to help revive its fortunes -- the commercial broadcaster has been struggling to retain its audience share against increasingly popular digital channels and, as a result, its share of national advertising revenue is slipping.