Fox and CBS duked it out for ratings supremacy on Sunday after a week that saw record low ratings for all four of the major broadcast networks.
RECORD LOWS With summer vacations and Independence Day, the first week in July is generally a bad time for TV ratings, but last week was exceptionally bad ratings-wise. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox combined for the smallest total number of primetime viewers in two decades of Nielsen's ratings records. Normal first week of July ratings woes were probably exacerbated by the fact that the holiday fell on a Sunday this year. Sundays are usually the week's biggest TV-watching night.
LAZY SUNDAY Networks came out of the terrible week with a quiet night on Sunday. Fox and CBS both averaged a 1.4 rating/4 share in the key adults 18-49 demographic from 7-10 p.m. The 12th edition of CBS' summer reality show "Big Brother" was the night's top show with a 2.3/7. Fox's lineup for the night consisted of repeats of the animated shows "The Simpsons," "The Cleveland Show" and "Family Guy." CBS' overall average was slightly lower than Fox because of its extra hour of primetime from 10-11 p.m.
