'Big' start for Oprah on ABC
Reality series opens to strong numbers
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The Alphabet also achieved a quieter success following "Big Give" with another nonscripted newcomer, "Here Come the Newlyweds," as the shows teamed to form a solid block in the absence of "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters."
It was tougher Monday to gauge the debut performance of Fox laffer "Unhitched," as a NASCAR overrun pushed the show's premiere back by about half an hour in most of the country. As a result, the affiliate-based preliminary Nielsens issued Monday could not be deemed accurate.
As for "Oprah's Big Give," the new eight-week reality show, for which Winfrey serves as exec producer and makes some special appearances, averaged a prelim 5.3 rating/12 share in adults 18-49 and 15.6 million viewers overall from 9 to 10 p.m.
It won its time period and stood as the night's top-rated program, drawing the third-highest regular-slot series premiere score of the season in 18-49 -- behind only Fox's "American Idol"-boosted "Moment of Truth" and NBC's "Bionic Woman."
"Big Give" built slightly on its strong lead-in from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (prelim 5.1/13 in 18-49, 14.8 million), although it did see a bit of a dropoff in its second half-hour. Show is skedded to air in the 9 o'clock timeslot through April 6, with "Desperate Housewives" returning April 13.
ABC stayed on top at 10 o'clock with the debut of six-week romantic comedy series "Here Come the Newlyweds" (prelim 4.1/11 in 18-49, 10.3 million), which beat NBC's repeat of "Law & Order: SVU" (prelim 2.1/6, 8.1 million) and CBS' "Dexter" (prelim 2.0/5, 6.9 million).
"Newlyweds," in which just-married couples compete for a nest egg to kickstart their new lives together, outperformed the last couple of episodes of "Brothers & Sisters" to air in the timeslot. It's sledded to air through April 6.
At Fox, affiliate-based preliminary Nielsens suggest "Unhitched" should come in somewhere between a 2.5 and 3.0 rating in 18-49. It aired 9:58 to 10:28 p.m. in most of the country and in its regular 9:30-10 p.m. slot in the West.
Net figures to win the opening hour of the night with its NASCAR overrun, which could top a 5 demo rating.
CBS and NBC didn't do a whole lot on the night with their lineups. The Eye was led by "60 Minutes" (prelim 2.1/6 in 18-49, 12.1 million) and "Big Brother" (prelim 2.3/6, 6.2 million), the Peacock by a special "Deal or No Deal" (prelim 2.3/5 in 18-49, 9.0 million), which was airing in place of "Quarterlife," canceled before it officially premiered.
