• by Wayne Friedman , November 13, 2007

The writers' strike grabbed big headlines in the TV business press, but did not affect the networks' prime-time performances as yet.

In solidarity, almost all the broadcast networks had something to be happy about. NBC had another strong "Sunday Night Football" game; ABC offered up a high-level "Desperate Housewives," and Fox's comedies scored well.

NBC won the night with a Nielsen preliminary live program-plus-same-day DVR 18-49 average of a 5.3 rating/13 share. A close game between strong teams--the San Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts--tallied a 6.8 rating/17 share.

ABC had the best-rated show of the night, with "Housewives" getting to a 7.2/16. The two shows that bookend "Housewives" also did well: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" at 8 p.m. earned a 5.3/14 and ABC's 10 p.m. show, "Brothers & Sisters," took in an equally fine 5.0/13. For the night ABC had a 4.9/12.

Fox also had a solid performance, tying ABC with a 4.9/12. Its results came mostly from its comedies: "The Simpsons" at 8 with a 5.1/13 and "Family Guy" at 9 with a 5.4/12. Fox also got a boost from its afternoon NFL post-game show of the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants, which ran over into prime time and got a 5.5/15.

Of the big four, CBS was firmly in the back row at a 2.8/7 for the night. CBS was a distant fourth place in key demos with its best coming from "The Amazing Race," at 8 o'clock with a 3.1/8. "Cold Case" was just behind at 9 o'clock, with a 3.0/7 in 18-49 viewers. "Shark" took in a 2.6/7, pretty much its average, at 10 o'clock.

CW yawned in with only a 0.4/1 for its new African-based drama "Life Is Wild." For the night, it earned a 0.5/1--less than half the rating of Univision's 1.2/3.