Whoops. The pre-season post for Sunday completely slipped my mind. That could be because it does promise to be a rather dull night where the ratings are concerned. Three Rivers and The Cleveland Show are the only new entries on the night, and neither of them looks to really shake things up. So, for the most part, Sunday night will look much like it did last season. There will be small fluctuations in the numbers, but nothing dramatic. In the bigger picture, I would look for FOX to be up slightly, while ABC is down slightly. CBS is taking a gamble that could go either way, and NBC, with football, will remain erratic, based on the games.
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Getting a little more into the thinking of the opening, ABC will be down slightly simply because that is the trend. Extreme Makeover and Desperate Housewives both slowly lost viewers last season. That’s partly due to the nature of network television, and partly due to the shows having been on for a long time. It just happens. That’s not to say that either of them is in any real danger. The new seasons will end up just below last season, but that still makes for numbers that are a real success for the network. Brothers & Sisters should be impacted less, because it’s still young enough that the erosion isn’t as severe. It will make for better retention out of Desperate Housewives this season.
CBS, on the other hand, could really go either way. The Amazing Race will again do its thing leading off the night. It’s become a solid Sunday night performer, providing a good alternative to NBC’s football. The curious bit is the move of Cold Case from 9:00 to 10:00. The show was consistent following Race, and I would expect it to do similar numbers again. In that regard, putting Three Rivers there is a bit of a gamble. I get the thinking — the network is trying to hold onto more of the younger demo that Cold Case was losing from Race. Great if it works, but a disaster if it doesn’t, as it will take Cold Case down with it. My guess is that initially, it will be a winner, improving the demo of Cold Case from last season. After that, it will be down to how the show develops.
There’s nothing too exciting for FOX or NBC. The FOX schedule is slightly improved simply for having The Cleveland Show plugged in at 8:30. That should provide the boost to the King Of The Hill numbers that Sit Down, Shut Up wasn’t able to deliver, making the whole night come out ahead. At NBC, football is always a winner, and it will make Sunday the strongest night for the network more often than not.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Sep 07, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
You forgot to factor in CBS’ constant sports overruns on Sundays that affect the entire schedule (curious you started with the 8:00 hour instead of 7:00 when Sunday programming usually starts). Even the CBS promos are saying The Amazing Race is on Sundays “following 60 Minutes” instead of “at 8:00.” That scheduling really screws up my DVRing on Sundays because I always have to set TAR to end at least 2 hours later which inevitably causes a conflict with other programs. The overruns do seem to boost CBS’ numbers for the night though.
See if it’s possible to get CBS in the Pacific timezone from your cable company. The games end earlier in pacific time and they fill the time with infomercials so that 60minutes and the Amazing Race start on time so you can trust your pvr to tape the whole thing.
I am over Desperate Housewifes, so will check out Three Rivers and its cast of young Dr.’s. It also seems to be a show with a message. Sign your Donor Card!! I did.