Sunday Dramas:Big Ratings For ABC [April 21,2008]

[M Jack]

ABC had a good night on Sunday,thanks to "Desperate Housewives," and "Brothers & Sisters".

The alphabet network led the night in households with a 7.0 rating/12 share, easily pushing past CBS' respectable 5.7/9. NBC took third with a 3.8/6, ahead of FOX, 3.0/5, and The CW, 1.1/2.

ABC also nabbed the coveted adults 18-49 demo with a 3.6 rating. FOX finished second with a 2.0, just edging CBS' 1.7. NBC was in fourth position with a 1.5 rating, while The CW trailed with a 0.5 average for the night.

CBS started strong at 7 p.m. averaging a 7.9/14 for "60 Minutes," while ABC came in a distant second with a 4.6/8 for an "America's Funniest Home Videos" repeat. "Dateline NBC" followed behind at 3.7.7. FOX averaged 1.9/3 with repeats of "King of the Hill" and "American Dad." The CW aired an "America's Next Top Model" rerun.

ABC began its ratings mastery at 8 p.m. with "Oprah's Big Give," 6.4/10. NBC's airing of "Monk," 4.1/7, barely edged out CBS' edition of "Big Brother," 4.0/7. " The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill" averaged FOX a 3.5/6 for the hour, far ahead of The CW's combo of "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Aliens in America."

"Desperate Housewives" at 9 p.m. gave ABC the highest-rated show of the evening with a 10.0/15, while the first hour of CBS' Hallmark Hall of Fame telepic "Sweet Nothing in My Ear" averaged a 5.5/9 for second place. FOX jumped up a spot with a 3.4/5 average for its "Family Guy" and "American Dad" combo, while NBC took fourth with "Psych," 2.9/4. "The Game," 1.3/2, and a "Girlfriends" repeat, 1.2/2, finished the night for The CW.

In the 10 o'clock hour, the return of the Walker clan on "Brothers & Sisters" cemented ABC's lead with a 7.2/12. The second half of CBS' "Sweet Nothing" movie posted a 5.7/10 for the hour, topping a repeat of NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," 4.6/7.

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings-042008,0,5672808.story