'Desperate Housewives,' 'Survivor' finale lead night

Fast National ratings for Sunday, May 11, 2008

The finale of the latest "Survivor" helped CBS finish in a near-tie with ABC on Sunday night.

ABC led in households with a 7.1 rating/12 share, but CBS, 6.9/12, had a slight edge in total viewers (11.76 million to 11.49 million for ABC). FOX was a good distance back in third at 2.9/5. NBC took fourth with a 2.7/5, while The CW earned a 0.9/1.

ABC scored a win among adults 18-49 with a 4.0 rating. CBS took second in the key ad demographic with a 3.6. FOX's 2.3 was good for third, followed by NBC, 1.1, and The CW, 0.5.

CBS' "60 Minutes" easily won the 7 p.m. hour with a 7.0/14. "America's Funniest Home Videos," 4.4/9, put ABC in second, ahead of NBC's golf coverage and the special "America's Favorite Mom." Repeats of "King of the Hill" and "The Simpsons" averaged 2.0/4 for FOX. The CW aired an "America's Next Top Model" rerun.

The finale of "Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites" posted a 7.1/12 for CBS at 8 p.m., holding off "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," 6.8/12, on ABC. A new "Simpsons," 3.8/6, and "King of the Hill," 3.1/5, moved FOX into third. "America's Favorite Mom" and an "Office" rerun averaged 1.8/3 for NBC, which was good enough to beat The CW's "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Aliens in America."

"Desperate Housewives," 9.7/15, gave ABC the lead at 9 p.m. The "Survivor" finale improved to 7.4/12. A "Family Guy" rerun and "American Dad" drew a 3.5/5 for FOX, while NBC held steady with an hour of "The Office." "The Game" and "Girlfriends" averaged 1.0/2 for The CW.

At 10 p.m., the season finale of "Brothers & Sisters" scored a 7.4/13 for ABC. The "Survivor" reunion show earned a 6.0/10 for CBS, topping a "Law & Order: SVU" rerun, 4.2/7, on NBC.

On Saturday, FOX's coverage of a NASCAR race scored a 4.6/9 to lead the night. CBS, 3.9/8, came in second, followed by ABC, 3.0/6, and NBC, 2.8/5.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.