Slow start for 'Three Rivers' on CBS

New medical drama Three Rivers made a disappointing start for CBS last night (Sunday), early ratings data indicates.

The show, which stars Alex O'Loughlin, tells the story of organ transplants from three perspectives - the donors, the recipients and the doctors. Although total viewership was decent - 9.17m - the drama placed last in its 9pm slot in total viewership and was a distance last place finish in the crucial 18-49 demo.

NBC's coverage of the Chargers vs. Steelers game was top for the hour with 16.38m. Desperate Housewives logged 14.27m for ABC, up 1m on last week's season premiere. On Fox, Family Guy and American Dad put in 9.67m and 7.06m respectively.

Fox logged the highest audience of the night, drawing 19.34m for its coverage of NFL Football at 7pm. At 7.30pm, The OT kept 10.19m.

60 Minutes pulled in 12.95m for CBS in the 7pm hour, while ABC's premiere of America's Funniest Home Videos managed 7.98m. Football Night In America had 7.4m for NBC.

At 8pm, 15.45m tuned in for the start of NBC's game coverage, and on ABC, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition appealed to 11.7m. The Amazing Race took 9.95m for CBS, a fall of around 1m on last week's premiere.

The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show brought in 9.32m and 8.7m respectively for Fox.

Later, at 10pm, the conclusion of the Chargers vs. Steelers game averaged 13.57m for NBC. ABC was second, taking 9.61m for Brothers & Sisters, while CBS had 9.69m with Cold Case.