• by Wayne Friedman , October 10, 2006

Sunday night TV viewing is finding its groove again--it's as easy as ABC.

After three weeks of the new season, it appears that ABC's "Desperate Housewives" has remained a top choice among 18-49 viewers, giving the network its ongoing lead on Sunday night--a similar trend to a year ago. Second place goes to a now-healthier NBC, with "Sunday Night Football."

For the night, ABC won with a 5.4/14 among 18-49 viewers, besting NBC's second-place 4.8/12. Among average total viewers, ABC's 14.2 million beat CBS' second-place 12.3 million.

In the prime match-up of the evening, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" took in an 8.5/19--down somewhat from a week before--but still way ahead of second-place competitor, NBC's "Sunday Night Football," which pulled in a still-healthy 5.9/14 between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Then, with "Housewives" out of the way, NBC's "Sunday Night Football" won the 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. hour, posting a 5.9/14--better than ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" at 5.3/13 and CBS' "Without a Trace" at 4.4/11.

Fox took third place for the night because of an NFL game overrun earlier in the evening. Fox won the 7-8 p.m. time period with a big 7.5 rating/22 share among 18-49 viewers. ABC was able to dominate the 8 p.m. hour with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," registering a 5.3/14.

The weekend started off belonging to CBS on Friday, narrowly beating NBC for the first time this season. CBS took in a 2.9 rating/9 share among 18-49 viewers, while NBC grabbed a 2.8/9 for the night. Friday's top-rated show, CBS' "Numbers," earned a 3.0/9.

Several other one-hour dramas had virtually similar numbers: CBS' "Ghost Whisperer" with 2.9/10; CBS' "Close to Home" with 2.8/9; and NBC's "Law & Order" with 2.8/9. Two other NBC shows were also in the same range: "Dateline NBC" with 2.8/9, and "Deal or No Deal" getting 2.7/9.

The CW laid claim to the male 18-34 viewers with "Friday Night Smackdown," with a 2.0 rating/8 share in the demo--the best of any network. The CW said the wrestling show is performing much better than on UPN a year ago--showing gains in adults 18-34, in men 18-34, in men 18-49, and in average viewers.