ABC still supreme on Sunday

CBS brings in big numbers with 'Survivor'

By RICK KISSELL

ABC captured its 12th consecutive Sunday among young adults behind its regular lineup but CBS made it close thanks to the finale of "Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites." Fox and NBC, meanwhile, didn't have much to cheer about.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, "Desperate Housewives" remained the night's top draw (5.5/14 in 18-49, 15.2 million viewers overall), although it flirted with its series-low rating. Also for the Alphabet net, "America's Funniest Home Videos" led at 7 o'clock (2.4/8 in 18-49, 7.8 million viewers overall), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ran a close second at 8 o'clock (4.0/11 in 18-49, 11.9 million viewers overall) and the season finale of "Brothers & Sisters" was a winner at 10 (4.0/10 in 18-49, 11.0 million viewers overall).

At CBS, following "60 Minutes" (1.9/6 in 18-49, 10.4 million viewers overall), the two-hour finale of "Survivor" averaged a 4.4/13 in 18-49 and 13.0 million viewers overall, nearly matching its result for the conclusion of its May 2007 edition. A reunion show followed with solid numbers (3.9/10 in 18-49, 10.8 million viewers overall).

Fox had a quiet night, including what could be the lowest-rated firstrun episode of "The Simpsons" (2.9/9 in 18-49, 6.0 million viewers overall) and lower-than-usual results as well for "King of the Hill" (2.5/7 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) and "American Dad" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall). It didn't help that "Family Guy" aired a repeat and was thus well off its usually strong game (2.7/7 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall).

Things were even worse at NBC, which barely registered with its lineup of a golf overrun, "The Office" repeats and a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.6/4 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall).

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: ABC, 4.0/11; CBS, 3.6/10; Fox, 2.3/6; NBC, 1.3/3; Univision, 0.9/3; CW, 0.5/1.

In total viewers: CBS, 11.8 million; ABC, 11.5 million; Fox, 5.1 million; NBC, 4.0 million; Univision, 2.2 million; CW, 1.4 million.