Overnights
'Survivor' slips to its lowest finale ever
By Toni Fitzgerald
May 12, 2008 - 11:57:21 AM

“Survivor: Micronesia” may have taken a bite out of “Desperate Housewives’” audience, but the season finale was still the lowest-rated in the series’ history.

“Micronesia” averaged a 4.4 adults 18-49 rating for its two-hour season-ender starting at 8 p.m. last night, according to Nielsen overnights, off 15 percent from a 5.2 overnight for last fall’s “Survivor: China” finale, which competed against a “Housewives” rerun.

“Micronesia” was 0.1 behind the previous lowest-rated finale, “Survivor: Fiji,” which averaged a 4.5 at this time last year. The show, now in its 16th season, averaged 12.9 million total viewers and was the night's second-highest-rated show behind "Housewives."

The ratings decline is certainly no surprise, as just about every hit show has hit a season or series low in recent weeks. “Micronesia” did better its most recent outing in its regular Thursday timeslot, which averaged a 4.1 adults 18-49 rating.

And it looks to have taken a nip from “Housewives,” which slipped 11 percent week to week, from a 6.2 to a series-low-tying 5.5. Still, the latter did win its timeslot and propelled ABC to its 12th straight Sunday victory.

The network’s season finale of “Brothers & Sisters,” which featured a much-buzzed-about gay wedding, was up slightly over last week from a 3.9 to a 4.0 despite the stronger competition from the “Micronesia” reunion special. It was the show's highest rating since January (though there was a long strike gap in there where the show was on hiatus).

ABC finished the night with a 4.0 average 18-49 overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 3.6/10, Fox third at 2.3/6, NBC fourth at 1.1/3, Univision fifth at 0.9/3 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
 
At 8 p.m. ABC was first with a 2.4 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” followed by CBS with a 1.9 for “60 Minutes.” Fox was third with a 1.4 for “King of the Hill” and “The Simpsons,” NBC fourth with a 1.3 for golf overrun and the start of “America’s Favorite Mom,” Univision fifth with a 0.8 for “Hora Pico” and “Familia P. Luche,” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
CBS took the lead at 8 p.m. with a 4.2 for the first hour of its “Micronesia” finale, while ABC slid to second with a 4.0 for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Fox was third with a 2.7 for “The Simpsons” (2.9) and “King of the Hill” (2.5), Univision fourth with a 0.8 for “Historias para Contar,” NBC fifth with a 0.6 for the end of “Mom” and a repeat of “The Office,” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for “Everybody Hates Chris” (0.5) and “Aliens in America” (0.4).
 
ABC regained the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.5 for “Housewives,” with CBS falling back to second with a 4.5 for “Micronesia.” Fox was third with a 2.7 for a repeat of “Family Guy” and a new “American Dad” (2.7), NBC and Univision tied for fourth at 1.1, NBC for more “Office” repeats and Univision for “Juan Gabriel: La Treyectoria.” The CW was sixth with a 0.6 for “The Game” (0.7) and a repeat of “Girlfriends” (0.6).
 
At 10 p.m. ABC held onto the lead with a 4.0 for “Brothers,” followed closely by CBS with a 3.9 for the “Survivor” reunion show. NBC was third with a 1.6 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and Univision fourth with a 1.0 for “La India Maria: Amor Incondicional.”
 
ABC also finished first for the night among households with a 7.1 average overnight rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 6.9/12, Fox third at 2.9/5, NBC fourth at 2.7/5, Univision fifth at 1.2/2 and CW sixth at 0.9/1.