What do you think of the ...

• Jul 7, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: What do you think of the networks' new Sunday lineups? First, I think NBC will undoubtedly improve thanks to Sunday Night Football, but not so dramatically that it will beat ABC or CBS. I seem to remember that Monday Night Football on ABC constantly took a backseat to CBS and declined in the ratings for several seasons. I've heard many analysts claim CBS will give ABC a run for its money on Sundays, but I don't see that happening, either. CBS will now have Without a Trace to fall back on, but Trace is lacking a CSI lead-in, and it was down 10 percent in the 18-to-49 demo this past season. That, coupled with a weaker lead-in from Cold Case, will result in big declines for Without a Trace. I also think CBS made a grave error in placing The Amazing Race at 8 pm/ET. This past season Race was down by double-digit proportions, and I highly doubt it will now find an audience against Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Sunday Night Football. The Amazing Race isn't the hit that CBS would like to think it is. Cold Case will likely suffer when it faces off against ABC's still-strong Desperate Housewives. If anything, Case's demo ratings will be greatly affected. I don't see Fox or CW in the Sunday game this season. Both will continue to air their artillery of mediocre comedies. I think ABC will still dominate on Sundays, albeit not as much as a year ago. While Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives were down this past season, both shows are still forces to be reckoned with. Housewives will be especially potent if it gets back on track. I also think  ABC will win the 10 pm/ET hour with Brothers & Sisters, which is not only compatible with Housewives, but also has a well-known cast. What do you think?
Answer: Whew. Been giving this much thought, Ryan? My take on the overall Sunday picture in the fall goes like this: It's a strong night, where there's truly something for just about everyone. Good for most of the networks, good for us. With football on NBC, and CBS scrapping the movie franchise for a one-two crime-drama combo, both networks are likely to improve greatly on the night, and possibly not even at the expense of ABC. As noted above, Desperate Housewives is popular even when it isn't very good, and will likely do just fine, as will Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I do agree it's risky to put Amazing Race opposite another established reality hit (although of a different subcategory), but even that feels like counterprogramming to me. Not every show has to win every time period to be considered a success. If Cold Case and Without a Trace improve CBS' position that night, which is almost certain to happen, even if the demographics skew older (which they will, as often happens with CBS), it will still look like a victory. And don't underestimate the power of prime-time football, especially with NBC getting to cherry-pick many of the best matchups (at least that's my understanding — not my specialty). For the first half of the season, while football dominates Sunday nights, I wonder if Fox's male-skewing animated comedies will suffer. Probably not by so much that it will affect those shows in the long run. The biggest question mark on Sundays is Brothers & Sisters. Just being serialized isn't enough to make it compatible with Housewives. Like Grey's Anatomy, this show has to be fun to watch. If it isn't, it could end up losing a lot of that spectacular lead-in, as opposed to Grey's, which often improved on Housewives' audience (because, frankly, it was a better show). All in all, this is one of the more fascinating and competitive nights of the week (and we haven't even mentioned HBO or basic cable), with plenty of interesting face-offs to follow and, needless to say, shows to watch.