• by Wayne Friedman , October 17, 2006

This past Sunday night was no gimme for ABC. Competing networks made some big inroads that night, thanks to the poor performance of ABC's rookie show "Brothers & Sisters" and some erosion from its top gun, "Desperate Housewives."

"Housewives" is now down to a season low--8.0, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research national ratings--that's off 16 percent from its 9.5 season debut. Overall, ABC still won the night with a 5.4 rating--way down from the 6.0-plus dominating 18-49 numbers the network had boasted in recent weeks.

"Sisters" fell 8 percent to a 4.9 rating from last week. It was also down almost 50 percent from its "Housewives" lead-in. On September 24, "Sisters" premiered with a 6.2 rating.

The net got better news earlier in the evening. "America's Funniest Home Videos" was at 3.1 in 18-49s, and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" took in an even better 5.5 in 18-49s. Both were up week to week.

For the night, CBS moved into second place with a 4.2/11, ending NBC's reign in that spot over the last several weeks. CBS was helped by run-over NFL ratings and a strong "60 Minutes," which pulled in with a 4.8 during the 7 p.m. hour. At 10 p.m., CBS moved close to ABC's "Sisters," with its "Without a Trace" earning a 4.3 for the time period.

NBC didn't have much luck with its "Sunday Night Football," featuring the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders. "SNF" drifted back to a 3.8 rating, and took in a 3.6 rating for the evening.

Fox's National League Championship Series coverage continued to suffer, putting the network at a 2.1/5 for the evening. Univision was next, with a 1.1/3.

The CW's newly revamped Sunday schedule inserted an "America's Next Top Model" rerun at 7 p.m., and aired new episodes of "7th Heaven" and "Runaway." Yet it could only muster a collective 0.9 rating/2 share for the night. The net shifted its comedies back to Monday night.