Overnights
The new Wednesday quagmire: 8 p.m.
By Toni Fitzgerald
May 1, 2008 - 11:48:18 AM

Wednesday at 8 p.m. has turned into an unscripted hour for most of the English-language networks, and it led to low ratings as first week of May sweeps concludes.

Last night Fox’s bubble comedies “’Til Death” and “Back to You” won the 8 p.m. timeslot with a mere 2.3 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, 0.1 ahead of ABC’s “Wife Swap.”

The hour is full of unscripted shows, some of them filler used to prop up the networks during the strike, like “Swap” and CBS’s “Price is Right” primetime special series, which had been airing Fridays until last night.

The only real hit show in the hour is the CW’s “America’s Next Top Model,” whose strength lies with adults 18-34, and even that’s off from past years, though certainly increased DVR usage is hurting the 8 p.m. hour across the board.

No doubt the timeslot was also hurt by the strike and the networks’ decision not to return some shows, like “Pushing Daisies,” until fall, meaning more hours to be filled by specials like “Right.” It could be a prime spot for a strong new show next season, since there will be no returning smashes to compete against.

Meanwhile, the series debut of CW’s reality show “Farmer Wants a Wife” was not impressive. Though it improved on reruns of “Girlicious” that had been running at 9 p.m., it lost a steep 58 percent of “Model’s” lead-in among the network’s target 18-34s, averaging a 1.0 rating.

That came against a season-low rating for timeslot competitor “Idol,” which slipped 6 percent from last week to an 8.1.

And ABC’s “Boston Legal,” moving from its usual Tuesday 10 p.m. slot, saw its average slip 21 percent in its new 10 p.m. slot, to a 1.9 last night. It was hurt by its weak lead-in, “Supernanny,” compared with a “Dancing with the Stars” lead-in Tuesday nights.

Fox was first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 5.2 average overnight rating and a 14 share. CBS was second at 2.7/7, NBC third at 2.3/6, ABC fourth at 2.1/6, Univision fifth at 1.7/5 and CW sixth at 1.5/4.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 2.3 for “Death” (2.0) and “You” (2.5), with ABC second with a 2.2 for “Wife Swap” and CW third with a 2.0 for “America’s Next Top Model.” Univision and NBC tied for fourth at 1.8, Univision for “Al Diablo con los Guapos” and NBC for “Deal or No Deal,” with CBS sixth with a 1.7 for “Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular.”
 
Fox grew its lead at 9 p.m. with an 8.1 for “American Idol,” followed by CBS with a 3.2 for “Criminal Minds.” ABC and NBC tied for third at 2.2, ABC for “Supernanny” and NBC for another hour of “Deal,” with Univision fifth with a 2.0 for “Fuego en la Sangre” and CW sixth with a 1.0 for “Farmer Wants a Wife.”
 
CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 3.1 for “CSI: NY,” while NBC was second with a 3.0 for “Law & Order.” ABC was third with a 1.9 for “Boston Legal” and Univision fourth with a 1.4 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
 
Fox also finished first for the night among households with an 8.7 average overnight rating and a 14 share. CBS was second at 6.8/11, NBC third at 5.6/9, ABC fourth at 4.3/7, and Univision and CW tied for fifth at 2.2/4.