'Santa' does the trick
Alphabet wins Sunday with Disney telepic
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With "Santa" leading the way, ABC took the night's final seven half-hours in total viewers, losing only in the leadoff half-hour to CBS' "60 Minutes." Net also finished a solid second on the night to Fox in adults 18-49 (6.1/14 to 6.5/15), according to prelim nationals from Nielsen.
Fox, whose "X-Files" (prelim 7.5/16) topped celeb "Millionaire" (7.1/15) for a second straight week in 18-49, has now won all three Sundays in the demo this season with its full lineup intact.
NBC still on top
The strong showings on the night by both Fox and ABC don't appear to be enough to unseat NBC as the demo leader for the Nov. 13-19 frame, although ABC may claim a share of the top prize. When Nielsen issues its averages for the week this morning, NBC is expected to win with a 5.7 rating in the demo, although ABC is right on its tail (5.6) and could pull into a share of the lead. Fox will finish third (4.6), followed by CBS (3.6), the WB (2.0) and UPN (1.7).
ABC, on the heels of strong showings on Friday and Saturday as well, has a lock on the week among total viewers, with NBC second and CBS third.
"Santa Who?," starring Leslie Nielsen as a Santa stricken with amnesia after falling out of his sleigh, delivered the second largest audience for a Disney movie (prelim 16.7 million) since Jan. 9 -- behind only last week's "The Miracle Worker" (17.4m).
'Wonderful' is wonderful
"Wonderful World" continues to rank as the No. 1 movie franchise on television this season in both viewers (14 million) and adults 18-49 (4.9/12).
For the night, ABC's 18.9 million viewers is its second largest on a Sunday (behind only last week) since May 7. Celebrity "Millionaire," which wrapped its five segs on Sunday, was the night's most-watched show (prelim 23.5 million). Thanks to a boost by "Santa," no doubt, the quizzer also delivered its highest rating in kids 2-11 (5.7/20) for any installment of the program since May 7.
At 10, "The Practice" logged its second best numbers of the season (prelim 18.7m, 7.0/17 in A18-49), topping the final hour of CBS' "Lost Child" pic by about 2-1/2 million viewers and besting NBC's "Lethal Weapon IV" by 3 shares in 18-49.
"Lost Child," a Hallmark Hall of Fame production, attracted the Eye net's largest audience for a single-part Sunday pic (prelim 15.7 million) since "Take Me Home: The John Denver Story" on April 30. Movie skewed a bit old, though, settling for just the slot's third best 18-49 score of the season (prelim 4.0/9).
'Angel' flutters
CBS' "Touched by an Angel" continues to struggle, finishing fourth in adults 18-49 (an apparent all-time firstrun low of 3.5/8) and third in total viewers (13.9 million). Show is certainly happy to see NBC's competing drama "Ed" packing its bags and heading for Wednesday.
In its final Sunday outing, "Ed" approached its season low in adults 18-49 (prelim 4.0/9). NBC was led on the night by the preem of "Lethal Weapon IV" (prelim 12.1m, 5.3/12 in A18-49).
