NBC's '10.5' only half as strong as its title

Fast National ratings for Sunday, May 21, 2006

The season finale of "Desperate Housewives" floored the competition Sunday, leading ABC to a ratings win. Not even the "Apocalypse" on NBC could stop the ladies of Wisteria Lane.

ABC averaged a 10.7 rating/17 share for the night, well ahead of the 7.6/12 for second-place CBS. NBC finished third with a 5.1/8, beating FOX's 4.5/7. The WB trailed with a 1.7/3.

In the adults 18-49 demographic, ABC's 7.0 rating was double that of FOX's 3.5. CBS grabbed third in the demographic beloved by advertisers with a 2.7. NBC averaged 2.1 and The WB 1.1.

CBS, as usual, started the night on top with "60 Minutes," which scored a 7.1/13 at 7 p.m. ABC was second for the hour with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," 5.1/9. "Dateline," 4.7/9, was third for NBC. Two "Simpsons" reruns averaged 3.5/6 for FOX. The WB aired a pair of "Reba" repeats.

"Cold Case," 8.4/14, won the 8 p.m. hour in households for CBS, but hour two of "EM: Home Edition," 8.0/13, had more total viewers. "Dateline" improved slightly in its second hour. The season finale of "The Simpsons," 5.0/8, and "Family Guy," 5.1/8, put FOX in a virtual tie for third (and beat NBC in viewers). The series finale of "Charmed" delivered a 2.7/4 for The WB.

Part one of the "Desperate Housewives" season finale posted a 14.3/22 for ABC at 9 p.m. CBS dropped to second with a "CSI: Miami" rerun, 7.1/11. NBC failed to shake things up with its movie "10.5: Apocalypse," managing only a 5.4/8. Another hour of "Family Guy" scored a 5.0/8 for FOX. The WB aired a "Charmed" rerun.

"Housewives" improved to 15.5/25 at 10 p.m., better than the combined total for CBS' "CSI: NY" repeat (7.8/13) and NBC's "Apocalypse" (5.2/8).

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