• by Wayne Friedman , November 13, 2008

On Wednesday, the November sweeps lived up to its name as a big event/stunt TV period--at least for ABC.

The network's "42nd Annual CMA Awards" pulled in a night-leading Nielsen preliminary 5.0 rating/13 share among 18-49 viewers, which ran for three hours in prime time. In addition, ABC was atop the leaderboard among 18-34 viewers with a 3.9/11.

CBS was the next-best performer overall for the night with a 3.0/8, with "Criminal Minds" leading the way with a 3.8/10--up from a 3.5/9 a week before. "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2.0/6), "Gary Unmarried" (2.1/5) and "CSI: New York" (3.1/8) more or less maintained levels versus a week ago.

Fox was just behind CBS at a 2.9/8, with its best results coming from "Bones" at 8 p.m., with a 3.5/10. A repeat of "House" at 9 p.m. offered a 2.4/6.

NBC suffered a bit. Struggling "Knight Rider" at 8 p.m. went a bit south--with a 1.5/4 against a 1.6/4--as did "Life," down to a 1.8/5 from a 2.0/5 a week ago. "Law & Order" was at the same level, a 2.2/6. Overall, NBC was behind Fox at a 1.9/5.

CW offered up decent results again with its top show "America's Next Top Model" earning a 1.9/5 among 18-49 viewers and a 2.4/7 for its core 18-34 crowd. For the night, CW was in fourth place among 18-34 viewers, with a 1.7/5.

Univision was tick above CW among 18-49 viewers at a 1.5/4, and a tick below the CW among 18-34 viewers, at a 1.6/4. Its best show of the night was "Fuego en la Sangre," earning a 1.9/5 among the 18-49 demographic.