Fierce Sweeps: 'Desperate' Cleans House

The first Sunday of the last crucial rating period -- the May sweeps -- had four networks within a half a rating point. Yet none averaged over a 3 rating for the night.

ABC edged out CBS, a 2.6/7 to a 2.4/7, according to Nielsen preliminary results. Fox was a tick back at a 2.3/7. NBC was two-tenths behind Fox at a 2.1/6.

Top honors of the night went to ABC's "Desperate Housewives" with a 3.7/10. Fox "Family Guy" was right behind with a special one-hour show, getting a 3.5/10. Both shows ran head-to-head at 9 p.m. "Housewives" was up 12%, and "Guy" improved 3% versus their last respective original episodes.

CBS' "60 Minutes" was a key performer, earning a 2.3/8, a nearly 40% improvement from the week ago. A highly touted Conan O'Brien interview about his NBC travails was the reason for the big numbers.

The 8 p.m. hour had CBS' "Amazing Race" winning the time period with a 3.0/9, although the show was down a bit from its last original time period.

NBC's two-hour version of "Celebrity Apprentice" pulled in with a 2.6/7, down 16% from a week ago. Still, it won the 10 p.m. hour, averaging a 2.8/7.

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Among the new reality shows, NBC's "Minute to Win It" took home a 1.9/6 -- well out of the race for top honors during the 8 p.m. hour. The show managed a tiny rise from the previous week.

Although ABC won the night among 18-49 viewers, Fox easily took first place among 18-34 viewers, with a 2.9/10. ABC was a full rating point behind in second place at a 1.9/6.

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