No real movement up or down is probably a good thing for ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters.” The new primetime soap opera held up in its third week, though at a level likely below where the network would like it.

“Sisters” averaged a 5.3 rating Sunday night at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, down just 4 percent from week two’s 5.5 average. Since its Sept. 24 debut, “Sisters” has retained 88 percent of its 18-49 rating, which began at 6.0.

It has the considerable benefit of airing after ABC hit “Desperate Housewives,” which has averaged an 8.5 or better in its three outings.

Considering the major declines that other new shows with favorable timeslots have seen, such as NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and ABC’s own “Six Degrees,” “Sisters” could qualify as a success, albeit a modest one.

Its vulnerability is its poor retention of “Housewives’” audience, just 62 percent. Yet it's not sinking, and among women 18-49 it’s doing quite well, averaging a 7.5 Sunday night.

In a season with few new hits--some might argue none--“Sisters” is certainly no bomb, and there’s still the possibility that it will grow once “Sunday Night Football” goes off the air.

The big worry for “Sisters” was that it would not come together as a cohesive series in time for its premiere, after a flush of cast changes and reshootings. Reviewers were not especially kind, either.

Those worries now seem in the past. The issue going forward is whether it will grow into ABC's expectations. Its 62 percent retention does not bode well. A promising series should be pulling around 75-80 percent.

“Sisters” did finish behind NBC’s “SNF” in 18-49s and 25-54s, with the latter finally getting a compelling matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers.

But ABC still won the night, averaging a 5.4 rating and 14 share in 18-49s, followed by NBC at 4.8/12, Fox at 3.5/9, CBS at 3.4/9, the CW at 1.1, and Univision at 1.0. But a caveat: Ratings for live events are approximate and thus numbers for NBC’s NFL and Fox’s NFL/baseball coverage may change when final ratings are released later today.

At 7 p.m., Fox’s NFL overrun led with a hefty 7.5, followed by ABC’s 2.5 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” NBC at 2.2 for “Football Night in America,” CBS at 2.0 for “60 Minutes,” Univision at 1.1 for “Hora Pico” and CW at 1.0 for “Everybody Hates Chris” and “All of Us.”

At 8 p.m., ABC led with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” at 5.3, followed by NBC at 5.1 for “America” and “SNF,” CBS at 3.4 for “Amazing Race,” Fox at 2.6 for the National League Divisional Series Game 4 between St. Louis and San Diego, the CW at 1.2 for “Girlfriends” and “The Game,” and Univision at 0.9 for “Cantando por un Sueno.”

At 9 p.m., “Housewives” led at 8.5, followed by NBC’s “SNF” at 5.9, CBS’s “Cold Case” at 3.8, Fox’s baseball at 2.0, CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” rerun at 1.2, and Univision’s “Cantando” at 0.9.

At 10 p.m., “SNF” moved ahead at 5.5, followed by “Sisters” at 5.3, CBS’s “Without a Trace” at 4.4, and “Cantando” at 0.9.

Among households, ABC led at 8.7/14, followed by CBS at 7.9/13, NBC at 7.3/12, Fox at 6.3/10, CW at 1.7/3, and Univision at 1.3/2.