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Posted: Wed., Jul. 26, 2006, 9:00pm PT

'Housewives' cool in Spain

Hit U.S. skein not so hot abroad

After its less-than-thrilling first season in Spain averaged an 18.5% share for TVE-1, "Desperate Housewives" wrapped its second season Tuesday with an even softer 12.2% average.

TVE-1 skews old and rural, rather than young, hip and middle-class.

Net bowed the skein Thursday, March 23, in a "woman's night" primetime double bill with Spanish drama "Con dos tacones"; that may have been too much femme-targeted entertainment.

Commercial broadcasters Telecinco and Antena 3 soon moved their top dramas, "The Serranos" and "Aqui no hay quien viva," respectively, to Thursdays to blow "Housewives" out of the water and weaken TVE-1's traditional dominance of Thursday primetime.

Shunted first to Tuesdays, where it went up against "House," "Housewives" bounced all over the sked, making it hard for auds to find.

Yet with TVE-1's overall share slipping from 19% last summer to 16%-17% this month, "Housewives" can't be rated an absolute failure.

The question now is how Disney crown jewel "Lost" will fare in its second season, which starts this fall on TVE-1.

Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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