'Desperate Housewives,' 'Survivor' finales duke it out

Fast National ratings for Sunday, May 17, 2009

A pair of finales on ABC and CBS claimed Sunday night's ratings lead and put the two networks into a virtual tie for first place.

Both ABC and CBS averaged a 6.7 rating/11 share among households for the night, with CBS (11.83 million people) winning the total-viewer crown over ABC (10.76 million). FOX (2.9/5) was third in viewers, even though NBC, 3.2/5, had a slightly better household number. The CW came in at 0.8/1.

ABC led the adults 18-49 demographic with a 3.6 rating, just ahead of CBS' 3.5. FOX took third with a 2.4, followed by NBC, 1.3, and The CW, 0.3.

CBS started the night on top with "60 Minutes," 6.3/12, at 7 p.m. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" put ABC in second with a 3.8/7. "Dateline" drew a 3.2/6 for NBC, topping the 1.7/3 average for "King of the Hill" and "American Dad" reruns on FOX. The CW went with "Jericho" and the movie "License to Kill."

The "Survivor: Tocantins" finale, 6.5/11, kept CBS on top at 8. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" improved to 5.6/9 for ABC. NBC stayed in third with more "Dateline," 4.5/8. "The Simpsons," 3.4/6, and "King of the Hill," 3.0/5, kept FOX well ahead of The CW's movie.

At 9, the "Desperate Housewives" finale scored an 8.4/13 to move ABC past CBS and "Survivor: Tocantins," 7.3/11. FOX jumped up one spot to third with "Family Guy," 4.3/7, and "American Dad," 3.4/5. The special "SNL: Just Shorts" was fourth for NBC, while "License to Kill" concluded with a 1.1/2 on The CW.

The second half of "Desperate Housewives" earned a 9.0/15 at 10 p.m. CBS' "Survivor" reunion show scored a 6.6/11, while NBC's "SNL" special managed only a 2.3/4.

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.