Primetime Ratings: ABC Takes Sunday Night with Feel-Good Reality

America’s Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Oprah’s Big Give, Here Come the Newlyweds Propel Network

By B&C Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/17/2008 5:20:00 PM

Buoyed by its feel-good slate of reality programming, ABC won the night Sunday averaging 9 million viewers and a 3.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic from 7 p.m.-11 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research’s tally of the top metered markets.

At 7 p.m., ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos prevailed in the demo over CBS’ 60 Minutes (2.3 rating versus 2.0), while 60 Minutes took the time period in total viewers (11.11 million versus 7.36 million).

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition won the 8 p.m. time period in the demo (4.1 rating) and total viewers (12.03 million) beating out NBC’s Dateline, Big Brother on CBS and The Simpsons and King of the Hill on Fox.

At 9 p.m. Oprah’s Big Give squeaked by a rerun of Cold Case on CBS in total viewers (9.71 million) and easily prevailed in the demo (3.6 rating). But it lost more than 3 million viewers from its Extreme Makeover lead-in.

At 10 p.m., a rerun of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit won the time period in total viewers (7.74 million) while ABC’s newest reality entry, Here Come the Newlyweds, took bragging rights in the demo (2.9 rating).