Overnights
ABC hops out ahead on a slow Easter
By Toni Fitzgerald
Mar 24, 2008 - 11:34:21 AM

Easter isn’t usually a big TV-watching night, and last night was no different. Usual Sunday leader ABC swept all but one hour of primetime en route to an easy nightly win.

The network averaged a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating and 9 share, according to Nielsen overnights, 24 percent ahead of second-place CBS at 2.5/7.

ABC finished first every hour from 8 to 11 p.m., led by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the night’s top show with a 3.9 rating at 8 p.m. “Oprah’s Big Give” won the 9 p.m. hour with a 3.5, down 3 percent from last week’s 3.6.

The daytime TV host’s new reality show seems to be stabilizing after big slides the two weeks following its strong premiere.

For the night, NBC placed third at 1.7/5, Fox fourth at 1.6/5, Univision fifth at 0.9/2 and CW sixth at 0.5/1. All but one network, CBS, which had the NCAA men’s basketball tournament overrun last night, declined compared with the previous week.
 
At 7 p.m. CBS led with a 3.5 rating for NCAA overrun and the beginning of “60 Minutes,” with ABC second with a 2.3 for a repeat of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” Fox was third with a 1.2 for repeats of “King of the Hill” and “American Dad,” NBC fourth with a 1.1 for “Dateline,” Univision fifth with a 0.8 for the first half of the Easter special “La Vida de Nuestro Senor Jesucristo” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
ABC took the lead at 8 p.m. with a 3.9 for “Home Edition,” while CBS slipped to second with a 2.6 for “60 Minutes” and the start of “Big Brother.” Fox was third with a 1.9 average for a repeat of “The Simpsons” and a new “Unhitched” (1.5), NBC fourth with a 1.4 for another hour of “Dateline,” Univision fifth with a 1.1 for the second half of its Easter special and CW sixth with a 0.4 average for “Everybody Hates Chris” (0.5) and “Aliens in America” (0.4).
 
ABC led again at 9 p.m. with a 3.5 for “Give,” followed by CBS with a 2.0 for “Big Brother” and the start of “Cold Case.” NBC was third with a 1.9 for a repeat of “Law & Order,” Fox fourth with a 1.8 average for a repeat of “Family Guy” and another original “Unhitched” (1.5), Univision fifth with a 0.8 for the first half of “Mentiras y Verdades: Celebrando 50 Anos de la Telenovela” and CW sixth with a 0.5 average for “The Game” (0.6) and a repeat of “Girlfriends.”
 
At 10 p.m. ABC was first with a 2.9 for “Here Come the Newlyweds,” with NBC second with a 2.3 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” CBS was third with a 1.7 for “Cold Case” and the beginning of “Dexter” and Univision fourth with a 0.8 for the second half of “Telenovela.”
 
Among households, CBS led the night with a 5.5 average overnight rating and a 10 share. ABC was second at 5.4/9, NBC third at 4.6/8, Fox fourth at 2.2/4, Univision fifth at 1.1/2 and CW sixth at 0.8/1.