• by Wayne Friedman , May 19, 2008

The May sweeps continued to lumber to a conclusion--with networks continuing to offer modest results in a rating period that usually brings in big viewership.

ABC took the last Thursday sweeps, with NBC improving to a second-place win. ABC averaged a Nielsen preliminary 4.5/12 on the night in adults 18-49. NBC was at a 3.5/9, with CBS a tad behind at 3.4/9.

"Grey's Anatomy" was the top-rated show of the night, with a 6.0 rating/15 share in 18-49 viewers--but it neared its all-time rating low (a 5.9), and fell 8% from the previous week. The network's 10 p.m. show "Lost" took a modest 4.9/13 in 18-49 viewers and was slightly up week to week, but still down from its season average.

NBC saw its hour-long finale of "My Name Is Earl" rise to a 3.0/9 in adults 18-49--its best numbers in five weeks. "The Office" took a 4.1/10 in 18-49, up versus its finale in an earlier time slot a year ago.

CBS had less than to work with than the other networks--especially with its "Survivor" finale running a week before. At 9 p.m., "CSI" earned a 4.7/12 in 18-49 viewers, and could end up with a final rating score that might be an all-time low. At 10 p.m., "Without A Trace" took second place with a 3.6. NBC was just behind with a 3.3 for "ER," its best rating in a few months.

Fox wasn't competing for any top prizes on the night, with "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" at a 2.2/7 and "Don't Forget the Lyrics" at a 2.3/6. It ended up with a 2.3/6.

CW came in as expected with "Smallville" at 1.7/5, and "Supernatural" at 1.2/3. That brought in the network at a 1.4/4. Univision was ahead of CW with a 1.7/5.