Overnights
ABC pumps up its Sunday night lead
By Toni Fitzgerald
Apr 28, 2008 - 11:53:19 AM

With its Sunday night lineup finally intact, ABC took the first Sunday of the May sweeps with ease, bettering No. 2 Fox by 33 percent and seeing “Desperate Housewives” creep out of its two-week ratings fall.

ABC averaged a 4.0 adults 18-49 rating and an 11 share, according to Nielsen overnights, well ahead of Fox’s 3.0/8 and 11 percent better than its average last week, when “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” had not returned to the schedule.

With “Home Edition” back last night, “Housewives” got a stronger 8 p.m. lead-in than it had the last two weeks, when it posted back-to-back series lows behind “Oprah’s Big Give.”

Last night, with “Home Edition” averaging a 3.9 at 8 p.m. to “Oprah’s” 3.2 last week, “Housewives” was up 5 percent week to week, from a 5.5 to a 5.8 in the 9 p.m. timeslot.

Its 10 p.m. lead-out, “Brothers & Sisters,” was also up week to week, from a 3.6 to a 4.0.

ABC swept every hour of the night, with “Housewives” the night’s highest-rated show.

CBS placed third for the evening at 2.1/6, NBC fourth at 1.3/4, Univision fifth at 1.0/3 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
 
At 7 p.m. ABC was first with a 2.3 rating for “Home Edition,” followed by Fox with a 1.9 for repeats of “King of the Hill” and “The Simpsons.” NBC was third with a 1.5 for “Dateline,” CBS fourth with a 1.4 for “60 Minutes,” Univision fifth with a 0.8 for “Hora Pico” and “Familia P. Luche” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
ABC was first again at 8 p.m. with a 3.9 for another hour of “Home Edition,” while Fox remained second with a 3.3 average for “The Simpsons” (3.6) and “King of the Hill” (3.0). CBS was third with a 2.3 for “Big Brother,” NBC fourth with a 1.0 for “Monk,” Univision fifth with a 0.8 for the first hour of “Noche de Estrellas” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for “Everybody Hates Chris” (0.5) and “Aliens in America” (0.4).
 
At 9 p.m. ABC led with a 5.8 for “Housewives,” with Fox second with a 3.8 for “Family Guy” (4.3) and “American Dad” (3.3). CBS was third with a 2.7 for “Cold Case,” Univision fourth with a 1.1 for another hour of “Noche de Estrellas,” NBC fifth with a 1.0 for “Psych” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for “The Game” (0.6) and a repeat of “Girlfriends.”
 
ABC completed the nightly sweep at 10 p.m. with a 4.0 for “Sisters,” followed by CBS with a 2.0 for “Dexter.” NBC was third with a 1.8 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and Univision fourth with a 1.1 for “Miguel Galvan: Una Estrella de la Comedia.”
 
ABC also finished first for the night among households with a 7.5 average overnight rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 5.7/9, Fox third at 3.9/6, NBC fourth at 3.8/6, Univision fifth at 1.2/2 and CW sixth at 0.8/1.