Primetime Ratings: Monk, Psych Fail to Spur NBC on Sunday Night
USA Network Series Barely Register a Blip on Overall Sluggish Night
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/7/2008 8:34:00 AM
"Born on the USA" could have been NBC's theme Sunday night as it began a month-long run of co-owned USA Network shows Monk and Psych. While the audience would have been large by cable standards (about 5.5 million and 4 million viewers, respectively), the shows did not register much of blip by broadcast-rating standards (a 1.5 and a 1.3 in the key 18/49 demo, respectively).
NBC was a distant fourth on the night in the demo, unable to crack a 2 rating in any half-hour. Its top show was a repeat of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit with a 1.9 rating/5 share in the demo from 10 p.m.-11 p.m.
But no network was raking in the ratings Sunday. ABC was tops with a 2.9/8, led by Oprah's Big Give and Here Come the Newlyweds with a 3.2/8 apiece.
Fox was next with a 2.3/6, led by a repeat of Family Guy with a 3.1/7 from 9:30 p.m.-10 p.m.
CBS was third with a 2.1/6 thanks to Cold Case with a 2.7/7. But CBS did have bragging rights in the "air a show from a co-owned cable network" department. Dexter, which CBS borrowed from Showtime to help fill the strike-addled season (NBC's motive as well), averaged a 2.1/5 from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. for second place in the demo.
The CW was fifth with a 0.4/1.
