It was a poor start to the 16th season of The Simpsons ratings wise. In the 8:00pm slot in which the much publicised Treehouse Of Horror XV aired, Fox came third overall and second among the 18 – 49 age bracket. The episode scored 11.29 million viewers, a number which is generally expected during a mid-season slump in viewers. In comparison, last year’s season premiere Treehouse Of Horror XIV attracted 16 million viewers and 2002’s Treehouse special had 17 million. In a rare occurance, ABC won the night over CBS with Desperate Housewives and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition attracting some of its highest figures ever. Viewers also rejected Fox’s “My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss”; altogether the network came fourth behind NBC for the night. The big test will be the “official premiere” next week, as last year’s “My Mother The Carjacker” dropped 4 million viewers from THOH XIV the previous week. We’ll bring you these ratings next Monday.
