Ratings Chart Attack!

“Oprah’s Big Give” was less than generous to lead-out “Desperate Housewives,” sending “Housewives” to a ratings low Sunday on ABC.

“Housewives” brought in a 5.5 rating/13 share on Sunday in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers, a series (minus clip shows) low.

“Oprah’s Big Give” (3.2/9) ended its run yesterday, up 10% from last week’s series low. “Brothers and Sisters” (3.6/10) returned to its 10 p.m. time period with a rating 20% better than its last original episode, which, coincidentally, was a series low.

ABC finished first on Sunday with a 3.6/10.

Fox (2.0/6) took second with animation repeats, while CBS was third (1.7/5). “Big Brother” (2.3/6) and “60 Minutes” (1.5/5) dipped down from last week 18% and 38%, respectively. CBS had the benefit of a Masters lead-in last week.

The TV movie “Sweet Nothing in My Ear” (1.5/4) preempted “Cold Case” and “Dexter.”

“Monk” (1.3/4) and “Psych” (1.1/3) continue to twist in the wind on NBC (1.3/4). “Monk” took a slight uptick from last week, while “Psych” dropped slightly.

The CW (0.5/1) had new episodes of “Everybody Hates Chris” (0.4/1) and “The Game” (0.7/2), essentially flat from last week.

On Friday, ABC (1.1/4) struggled with original content against a mainly repeat-heavy schedule. “Duel” bottomed out with a 0.9/3, while “20/20” (1.5/5) scored a second-place tie in its time period.

NBC won Friday (1.8/6) thanks to “Most Outrageous Moments” repeats and a new two-hour “Dateline” (1.9/6), which improved 12% over last week’s low “Miss USA 2008” showing.

CBS (1.5/5) ran repeats, while Fox (1.3/4) finished its run of “Canterbury’s Law” (1.0/3) to a series low.

The CW (1.2/4) grappled with fifth place, thanks to “Friday Night Smackdown!” (1.2/4), down 14% from last week.

Now that NCAA coverage is out of the way, Fox reclaimed Saturday with its crime lineup of “Cops” (1.7/6, 2.1/8) and “America’s Most Wanted” (2.1/7). ABC placed second with a 1.3/4, CBS third with a 1.1/4 and NBC was fourth with a 0.9/3.