"We're in the enviable position of having two shows that have each performed extremely well for us Sundays at 10:00 -- 'Boston Legal' and 'Grey's Anatomy,'" says ABC Entertainment Present Stephen McPherson. "We had already picked up 'Boston Legal' for next year based on its stellar run thus far this season. Now, with the strong debut of 'Grey's Anatomy,' we are very optimistic about having an additional asset of tremendous value heading into fall. However, with this embarrassment of riches comes a tough decision."

The numbers were fairly straight forward. For the season, "Desperate Housewives" has averaged nearly 22.8 million viewers per week, as the drama has come out of nowhere to become television's second most watched drama. With its 17 original episodes this season, "Boston Legal" has averaged 12.5 million viewers, making it one of year's top new shows. However, in two episodes since its midseason premiere, "Grey's Anatomy" has averaged just under 17 million viewers, building on its audience from its first to second weeks.

Originally, the "Anatomy" Sunday run was only to be four episode, but its instant success led to a re-evaluation of those plans. There had been rumours that ABC was considering shifting "Boston Legal" to Monday nights at 10 p.m., which would have mirrored a similar scheduling shift that nearly killed its parent drama "The Practice."