Overnights
Fox takes the final Monday of sweeps
By Toni Fitzgerald
May 20, 2008 - 12:00:44 PM

Fox easily won the final Monday of the May sweeps, but just about every network had some decent performances last night. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” gave the premiere of “The Bachelorette” a decent boost, CBS’s 9 p.m. comedies ended strong, and the CW had its best-ever Monday among adults 18-49.

“House” was last night’s top-rated show in 18-49s, averaging a 5.7 rating, according to Nielsen overnights. Though that was well below the show’s 7.1 season-to-date average, it was 19 percent ahead of the night’s No. 2 show, CBS’s “Two and a Half Men.”

“House” helped “Bones” to a solid 3.3 for its season finale in the 8 p.m. hour, finishing second in the slot behind part one of the “Stars” season ender.

“Stars” averaged a 4.3 rating at 8, 19 percent less than a 5.3 the same night last year, but still easily outdistancing the competition. That also gave the fourth-season premiere of “Bachelorette” a good lead-in.

“Bachelorette” averaged a 3.0 from 9 to 11 p.m. against strong competition. The show will face a bigger test next week, when “Stars” is no longer there to pad its numbers.

Finally, the 2-year-old CW had its best Monday ever among 18-49s with the season finales of “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill.” They combined for a 1.5 rating and 3.1 million total viewers, also the network’s most-watched Monday of the season.

As mentioned above, Fox led the night among viewers 18-49 with a 4.5 average overnight rating and a 12 share, edging CBS at 4.0/11. ABC was third at 3.4/9, NBC fourth at 1.8/5, Univision fifth at 1.7/4 and CW sixth at 1.5/4.
 
At 8 p.m. ABC was first with a 4.3 for “Stars,” followed by Fox with a 3.3 for “Bones.” CBS was third with a 3.0 for “The Big Bang Theory” (2.7) and “How I Met Your Mother” (3.2), Univision fourth with a 2.0 for “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” NBC fifth with a 1.5 for “American Gladiators” and CW sixth with a 1.4 for “Girl.”
 
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.7 for “House,” while CBS moved to second with a 4.5 for “Men” (4.8) and “Rules of Engagement” (4.3). ABC was third with a 3.1 for the first hour of “Bachelorette,” Univision fourth with a 2.0 for “Fuego en la Sangre,” NBC fifth with a 1.8 for another hour of “Gladiators” and CW sixth with a 1.5 for “Hill.”
 
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 4.4 for “CSI: Miami,” with ABC second with a 3.0 for another hour of “Bachelorette.” NBC was third with a 2.2 for “Dateline” and Univision fourth with a 1.1 for “Cristina.”
 
Among households, ABC led the night with an 8.2 average overnight rating and a 13 share, just ahead of Fox’s 8.1/13. CBS was third at 7.8/12, NBC fourth at 3.3/5, Univision fifth at 2.0/3 and CW sixth at 1.8/3.