• by Wayne Friedman , April 30, 2007

Networks upped their efforts at originals on the first day of the May sweeps--with ABC claiming a win. But CBS wasn't far behind.

ABC took in a 5.2/14, powered by "Grey's Anatomy," which pulled in a Nielsen preliminary 8.2 rating/21 share among 18-49 viewers, the top-rated show of the evening. One chink in the "Grey's" armor--the numbers were at the lower end of its recent original episodes.

Early in the evening, ABC's "Ugly Betty" delivered a fourth-place performance with a 3.1/9, as CBS' "Survivor" rang up another first place with a 4.5/13. But at 10 p.m., ABC's "October Road" took first place--in its season finale--with a 4.2/12.

CBS kept pace with ABC most of the evening. "CSI" took a 5.8/15, which was similar to "Grey's," at the shallow end of its ratings for an original. At 10 p.m., CBS' "Shark" earned a respectable 3.9/11. CBS had a 4.8/13 for the night.

Farther down the line was NBC with a 3.2/9. NBC was higher against year-ago numbers during the 8 p.m. hour with "My Name Is Earl" (3.2/10) and "The Office" (3.9/11). But it slipped after that with "30 Rock" (2.4/6) and "Scrubs" (2.3/6) during the 9 p.m. hour. The "ER" comeback run this year seems to be headed south again, earning a 3.7/11, coming in third in 18-49 at 10 p.m.

Fox was competitive at 8 p.m. with "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader," with a 3.4/10. After that, however, it was lights out: "Trading Spouses" only putting up a 2.1/5. The CW also struggled with "Smallville" and its 1.5/4, which was down 20%, versus a year ago while the WB.

After ABC, CBS and NBC, Fox was fourth with a 2.8/8; Univision was fifth at 1.7/5; and CW was last, at 1.4/4.