TV ratings: Quiet Sunday goes to CBS

By Rick Porter

    

August 24, 2009 8:49 AM ET

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Fast National ratings for Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009

The nation didn't watch a whole lot of TV Sunday night. No network drew as many as 6 million viewers for the evening, making it one of the lightest Sundays of the summer.

CBS led the field with 5.9 million viewers and a 3.7 rating/7 share in households. ABC was close behind with 5.6 million viewers and a 3.4/6. NBC (4.7 million, 2.9/5) came in third. FOX (3.9 million, 2.2/4) was fourth, and The CW trailed with 1.2 million viewers and a 0.8/1.

FOX won the adults 18-49 demographic with a 1.8 rating. CBS and NBC tied for second at 1.5, just ahead of ABC's 1.4. The CW drew a 0.5.

The hour-by-hour results:

7 p.m.

CBS: "60 Minutes" (7.5 million viewers, 4.9/10 households)
ABC: "America's Funniest Home Videos" rerun (6.6 million, 3.8/8)
NBC: "Merlin" (3.2 million, 1.9/4)
FOX: "'Til Death" rerun (2.5 million, 1.4/3)/"American Dad" rerun (2.5 million, 1.5/3)
The CW: "Reaper" rerun or local programming/Movie - "The Silence of the Lambs" (906,000, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: "America's Funniest Home Videos" (1.6)

8 p.m.

ABC: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (7.6 million, 4.6/8)
CBS: "Big Brother 11" (7.4 million, 4.3/8)
FOX: "The Simpsons" reruns - two episodes (4.4 million, 2.4/4)
NBC: "Merlin" (3.9 million, 2.3/4)
The CW: "The Silence of the Lambs" (1.2 million, 0.7/1)

18-49 leader: "Big Brother 11" (2.5)

9 p.m.

ABC: "Shark Tank" (5.6 million, 3.4/6)
NBC: Miss Universe Pageant (5.3 million, 3.5/6)
FOX: "Family Guy" rerun (5.3 million, 3.0/5)/"American Dad" rerun (4.1 million, 2.4/4)
CBS: "There Goes the Neighborhood" (3.8 million, 2.3/4)
The CW: "The Silence of the Lambs" (1.7 million, 1.0/2)

18-49 leader: "Family Guy" (2.4)

10 p.m.

NBC: Miss Universe Pageant (6.4 million, 4.1/7)
CBS: "Cold Case" rerun (4.9 million, 3.2/6)
ABC: "Defying Gravity" (2.7 million, 1.8/3)

18-49 leader: Miss Universe Pageant (2.3)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.