'Desperate' does it for ABC
Ratings Flash - Rick Kissell
According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, "America's Funniest Home Videos" kicked the night off a demo winner for ABC (2.7/10 in 18-49, 8.4 million viewers overall), followed by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (3.8/11 in 18-49, 10.3 million viewers overall), which remained on top for the 8 o'clock hour despite a substantial dropoff vs. the same night a year ago. Also down year-to-year was "Desperate Housewives" (roughly 6.7/17 in 18-49, 17.0 million viewers overall from 9 to 10:02 p.m.), although this repped its best averages since March 4, and rookie drama "Brothers & Sisters" closed things out with a demo victory (roughly 4.3/12 in 18-49, 11.2 million viewers overall from 10:02 to 11 p.m.).
Fox, second on the night in younger demos, started sluggishly with an hour of "King of the Hill" (1.8/7 in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall) before nearly catching ABC for the 18-49 lead from 8 to 9 o'clock with an original episode of "The Simpsons" (3.6/11 in 18-49, 7.5 million viewers overall) followed by a repeat of the toon vet (3.8/11 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall). At 9, "Family Guy" (4.1/11 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall) placed a solid second in 18-49 and first in 18-34, though the net dropped off some at 9:30 with "American Dad" (3.4/9 in 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall).
At CBS, following "60 Minutes" (1.9/7 in 18-49, 10.8 million viewers overall), "The Amazing Race: All-Stars" (3.0/9 in 18-49, 9.5 million viewers overall) was up week-to-week with its penultimate episode. "Cold Case" was on the low end at 9 (2.7/7 in 18-49, 12.2 million viewers overall), but "Without a Trace" picked up a bit at 10 (3.2/9 in 18-49, 13.7 million viewers overall).
It was another weak Sunday for both NBC and CW, with the Peacock mustering a mere 1.7/5 in 18-49 and 7.7 million viewers overall from 7 to 9 p.m. with "Dateline" and a 1.6/4 in 18-49 and 5.1 million viewers overall for the network premiere of 2004 feature film "Along Came Polly." And CW's "7th Heaven" (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall) is wheezing as it nears the finish line.
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: ABC, 4.4/13; Fox, 3.1/9; CBS, 2.7/8; NBC, 1.7/5; Univision, 1.1/3; CW, 0.7/2.
In total viewers: ABC, 11.8 million; CBS, 11.5 million; Fox and NBC, 6.4 million; Univision, 2.7 million; CW, 1.9 million.
