Fox splits Sunday with ABC

Fox and ABC split the Sunday night sweeps spoils, as the opener of CBS's much-hyped Marilyn Monroe mini-series Blonde produced bland ratings.

The Simpsons led the way for Fox with a 7.1 rating, 22 share among adults 18-49 with 13.7 million viewers in Nielsen fast national numbers. Malcom In the Middle followed with a 7.0/20 and 13.9 million takers, while The X-Files hit a 6.7/17 with 12.6 million viewers.

So Fox ruled among 18-49ers with a 5.8 average rating to ABC's 4.9. But ABC took the night in total viewers with a 15.7 million average. The Practice pulled 20.5 million viewers with an 8.0/21 and who Wants To Be a Millionaire? drew 17.6 million viewers.

The first installment of Blonde scored a 3.6/9 and drew 11.5 million takers. Meanwhile, NBC's Saturday Night Live Mother's Day special drew a 4.6/12 with 9.4 milion viewers. - Richard Tedesco