Fox toons off to slow start in ratings

ABC wins Sunday night with 'Housewives'

By RICK KISSELL

Fox's "Sit Down, Shut Up" got off to a slow start Sunday, sandwiched between the net's hit laffers "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy." ABC won the night in young adults, meanwhile, thanks to the return of "Desperate Housewives."

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, Fox's "Sit Down, Shut Up" averaged a 2.3 rating/6 share in adults 18-49 and 5.2 million viewers overall from 8:30 to 9 p.m., sagging between the higher-rated "The Simpsons" at 8 (3.0/9 in 18-49, 6.5 million viewers overall) and "Family Guy" at 9 (3.8/9 in 18-49, 7.4 million viewers overall). "Sit Down" settled for a third-place finish in 18-49 although it did win its timeslot by 2 share in adults 18-34 (2.7/8). Closing out the night, "American Dad" pulled a 3.0/7 in 18-49 and 5.8 million viewers overall.

At ABC, "America's Funniest Home Videos" opened the night a winner among young adults (2.2/7 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall) but the net dipped to third place at 8 p.m. with a repeat of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (2.2/6 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall). "Desperate Housewives" surged to the lead at 9 p.m. (4.7/11 in 18-49, 13.6 million viewers overall) with its first original episode since March, and "Brothers & Sisters" (3.3/9 in 18-49, 9.6 million viewers overall) tied for the lead or won outright in young-adult demos at 10.

NBC started the night slowly with the "Miss USA Pageant" (1.4/4 in 18-49, 4.9 million viewers overall), which placed fourth in its time period and was down from last year's telecast, which aired on a Friday. The net rallied to finish the night, however, with "Celebrity Apprentice" (3.1/8 in 18-49, 8.3 million viewers overall), which moved into a share of the demo lead in its fourth and final half-hour.

At CBS, "60 Minutes" (1.8/6 in 18-49, 11.9 million viewers overall) ran second in the 7 o'clock hour among 18-49 and 25-54 (2.6/8) but easily led in total viewers (11.9 million). The net then picked up from there with a demo-winning performance from "The Amazing Race" (3.0/8 in 18-49, 10.4 million viewers overall) but sagged from 9 to 11 p.m. with the original Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendlet" (1.5/4 in 18-49, 9.8 million viewers overall).

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: ABC, 3.1/9; Fox, 2.5/7; NBC, 2.3/6; CBS, 2.0/5; CW, 0.3/1.

In total viewers: CBS, 10.5 million; ABC, 9.6 million; NBC, 6.7 million; Fox, 5.1 million.