ABC’s Sunday night lineup isn’t as dominant as this time last year, but it’s still pretty strong.
The network won its third night of the young season last night among adults 18-49, the most of any network, with “Desperate Housewives” as usual the night’s top show.
ABC averaged a 5.0 18-49 rating and 13 share for the night, according to Nielsen overnights, with NBC in second at 4.6/12 (NBC could adjust up when final ratings are released, as it carried live football coverage after 11 p.m. that will be included in primetime average but is not available for fast nationals).
ABC was well behind its 6.4/16 to open the season last year at this time, with ratings for the season openers of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Housewives” and “Brothers & Sisters” all down from last year.
Still, “Housewives” drew a 7.4 rating, up 0.2 from last spring’s finale, and nearly 19 million total viewers, best performance since last November. And “Sisters” was up 13 percent from its first-season finale in 18-49s, from a 4.5 to a 5.1.
It may have gotten a boost from Sally Field’s recent Emmy win, which gave the show lots of exposure after she was censored for using an obscenity while protesting the war in Iraq. “Sisters” averaged a 4.2 last season.
Meanwhile, CBS’s relocated “Shark” continued to struggle away from its cushy Thursday night timeslot from last season, finishing third in the 10 p.m. timeslot among not only 18-49s but also total viewers.
For the night, CBS and Fox tied for third behind ABC and CBS at 3.2/8, with Univision fifth at 0.9/2 and CW sixth at 0.4/1.
At 7 p.m. CBS led with a 4.3 for NFL football overrun and a half hour of “60 Minutes.” ABC was second with a 2.9 for its first hour of “Home Edition,” NBC third with a 2.3 for “Football Night in America,” Fox fourth with a 2.0 for an hour of “The Simpsons” repeats, Univision fifth with a 0.8 for “Hora Pico” and CW sixth with a 0.3 average for “CW Now” (0.3) and “Online Nation” (0.3).
NBC took the lead at 8 p.m. with a 5.0 for football pregame and the first part of its “Sunday Night Football” game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, with ABC second with a 4.7 for its second hour of “Home Edition.” Fox was third with a 3.8 average for “Simpsons” (4.2) and “King of the Hill” (3.5), CBS fourth with a 2.6 for another hour of “60 Minutes,” Univision fifth with a 0.9 for its first of three hours of “Buscando a Timbiriche” and CW sixth with a 0.3 for a repeat of “Gossip Girl.”
At 9 p.m. ABC led with a 7.4 for “Housewives,” followed by NBC with a 5.6 for football. Fox was third with a 3.7 average for “Family Guy” (4.2) and “American Dad” (3.1), CBS fourth with a 3.4 for “Cold Case,” Univision fifth with a 1.0 for its second hour of “Buscando” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
NBC regained the lead at 10 p.m. with a 5.4 for football, while ABC fell to second with a 5.1 for “Sisters.” CBS was third with a 2.7 for “Shark” and Univision fourth with a 1.0 for its last hour of “Buscando.”
Among households, ABC led the night with an 8.9 average overnight rating and a 14 share. CBS was second at 8.6/14, NBC third at 7.2/12, Fox fourth at 4.0/6, Univision fifth at 1.2/2 and CW sixth at 0.6/1.
