ABC wins big on
first night of sweeps
Second-best night for 'Betty' and 'Grey's' this season
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb. 2, 2007
Three (potential) weddings and a sex change gave ABC a strong start to the February sweeps with its best Thursday night since September as all of its female-friendly dramas neared or hit series bests.
ABC averaged a 6.3 adults 18-49 rating and 16 share, according to Nielsen overnights, its best Thursday average in more than four months and 34 percent higher than No. 2 CBS. ABC tied the second week of the season, Sept. 29, for its second-best Thursday average this year.
That came courtesy of some major cliffhangers last week that brought viewers back to see what would happen. “Ugly Betty” began the night at 8 p.m. with the shocking sex change of Alex Meade. That development, teased at the end of its most recent original episode, boosted “Betty” to its second-best average of the season, a 4.7, 0.3 behind September’s premiere.
At 9 p.m., “Grey’s” delivered its second-best average of the season as well, a 10.2, as viewers tuned in to see if Callie and Cristina would accept George and Preston’s marriage proposals. That was the show’s best rating since an 11.0 for its premiere in September and continued its season-long win streak over CBS’s competing “CSI” in that demographic.
At 10 p.m., “Men in Trees,” which also featured a newly engaged couple, hit a series high with a 3.9. It also averaged a 3.9 in overnights last week, though that adjusted down to a 3.7 when final ratings were released.
ABC is now in first place for sweeps, though CBS is expected to take over after Sunday night, when it airs the Super Bowl. ABC won the November sweeps period last fall.
The network finished well ahead of the competition last night. CBS was second at 4.7/12, NBC third at 4.3/11, Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 1.8/4 and CW sixth at 1.7/4.
NBC and ABC tied for the lead during the 8 p.m. hour at 4.7, ABC for “Betty” and NBC for “My Name is Earl” (4.5) and “The Office” (5.0). CBS was third with a 3.4 for a “CSI” repeat, Univision fourth with a 2.3 for “La Fea Mas Bella,” and Fox and CW tied for fifth at 2.0, Fox for “Til Death” (2.3) and “The War at Home” (1.8) and CW for “Smallville.”
At 9 p.m. ABC took the lead in a big way with a 10.2 for “Grey’s,” well ahead of second-place CBS’s 6.8 for “CSI.” NBC was third with a 3.2 average for “Scrubs” (3.4) and “30 Rock” (2.9), Univision fourth with a 1.8 for “Mundo de Fieras,” Fox fifth with a 1.6 for “The O.C.” and CW sixth with a 1.4 for “Supernatural.”
NBC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 5.1 for “ER.” ABC and CBS tied for second at 3.9, ABC for “Trees” and CBS for “Shark,” with Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Aqui y Ahora.” “Shark” did win easily among total viewers.
Among households, ABC edged CBS for first place, averaging a 10.5 rating and 16 share to CBS’s 10.2/16. NBC was third at 5.9/9, Fox fourth at 2.8/4, CW fifth at 2.5/4 and Univision sixth at 2.3/4.
