ABC extends Sunday streak on strength of "Housewives"

ABC enjoyed across-the-board ratings gains Sunday night, with its dramas climbing slightly from their post-writers'-strike malaise.

"Desperate Housewives" (16.6 million viewers, 6.2 preliminary rating/16 share in adults 18-49) was up 5 percent to lead the night and help lock in ABC's 11th consecutive Sunday win (the network averages 11.6 million, 4.2/12).

At 7 p.m., "America's Funniest Home Videos" (7.3 million, 2.4/9) aired its 400th episode and won the hour. "Extreme Makeover" gained a couple of pegs (11.5 million, 4.1/12). At 10 p.m., "Brothers & Sisters" was up a notch (10.8 million, 3.9/10).

Fox was second, with its comedies declining week-over-week. The season finale of "Family Guy" (7.7 million, 3.9/10) was down 9 percent yet led the lineup. The network also had original episodes of "The Simpsons" (6.2 million, 3.0/9), which matched its second-lowest rating ever; "King of the Hill" (5.7 million, 2.7/8), which was down 10 percent; and "American Dad" (6.2 million, 3.1/8), down 9 percent.

CBS and NBC placed a modestly rated third and fourth, respectively. CBS was led by the 8 p.m. season finale of "Cold Case" (11.6 million, 2.4/7). The procedural was down 11 percent from the previous week's 9 p.m. outing and was followed by a couple of hours of "Dexter" episodes repurposed from Showtime (6.6 million, 1.6/5). NBC had "Dateline" (4.2 million, 1.2/4), repurposed cable dramas and a repeat. The CW's comedy block was unchanged (averaging 1.2 million, 0.5/1).

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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