• by Wayne Friedman , April 11, 2007

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" apparently wasn't the only show severely hit on Easter Sunday.

The highly marketed premiere of "The Sopranos" was gunned down 20% to 7.7 million viewers--from 9.5 million on March 12, 2006, its six-season premiere. Last season, the show averaged 8.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"The show is facing the same kind of audience erosion that a series on a broadcast network would face," says Brad Adgate, senior vice present and corporate research director for media agency Horizon Media. "Some people were really under-whelmed by last year's story line. The creative execution may have worn out."

Still, there was some good news for HBO. "Entourage" returned on Sunday, pulling in 3.8 million viewers--up from its premiere last June, when it posted 2.7 million viewers.

The ratings for all "Sopranos" repeats of the premiere aren't in yet. Last year, the show averaged 13 million cumulative viewers for each of its episodes. TV programming analysts are waiting to see if the show will make up ground with repeat viewings--or through time-shifted playback.

"HBO viewers are more likely to own a DVR," says Adgate. "But I don't think they'll make up a 20% difference. The highest for any show is 14% of the audience for "The Office."

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" had its weakest outing ever for the series, with a 6.0 rating among 18-49 viewers, and 15.9 million viewers overall. The show was in repeats since March. Analysts say that serialized dramas suffer when they take a break and dip into reruns for extended periods, giving viewers the opportunity to explore other shows.

However, some analysts cite Easter Sunday's low-viewing night to explain the low ratings for "Housewives" and "Sopranos."