Potential presidential candidate Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" enjoyed a ratings bump Sunday, while "America's Next Great Restaurant" continued to tread water for the third straight week, according to preliminary numbers.
NBC began the night at 7 p.m. with "Dateline," which drew a 0.8 rating/3 share in the demo — down 11 percent from last week — and 4.2 million total viewers. "America's Next Great Restaurant" the following hour stayed static in the demo for the third week in a row, receiving a 1.2/3 — tied for a series low — and 3.5 million total viewers.
At 9, the first episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" to broach the Donald's possible presidential bid had 12 percent growth in the demo compared to last week, with a 2.9/8 and 8 million total viewers.
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ABC received mostly good news on Sunday, with all of its original episodes improving over last week's ratings. An "America's Funniest Home Videos" repeat at 7 drew a 1.7/6 in the demo and 6.5 million total viewers, while "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," the following hour, gained 15 percent over the previous week with a 2.2/6 in the demo and 7.7 million total viewers. "Desperate Housewives" at 9 was also up, receiving a 7 percent bump over last week with a 2.9/8 in the demo and 9.8 million total viewers. "Brothers & Sisters" rounded out the evening at 10 with an 11 percent jump, taking a 1.9/5 in the demo and 6.5 million total viewers.
At CBS, "60 Minutes" at 7 had a 1.6/6 in the demo and 10.3 million total viewers. The following hour, "Amazing Race" received a 2.5//7 and 9.2 million total viewers. The Emily VanCamp/Treat Williams Hallmark presentation "Beyond the Blackboard" at 9 took a 1.3/3 in the demo and 8.4 million total viewers.
Fox ran with an all-"Simpsons" roster on Sunday, with back-to-back repeats at 7 and 7:30 taking a 0.8/3 and 1.0/3 in the demo, respectively, and an airing of "The Simpsons Movie" at 8 drawing a 1.4 in the demo and 3.6 million total viewers.