Madonna's <I>Will & Grace</i> appearance helps win the night for NBC (8481)

NBC won the first night of May sweeps--Thursday, April 24--thanks to strong ratings boost from Madonna on the gay-themed sitcom Will & Grace, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The episode averaged 18.9 million viewers, with a 9.3/23 share among adults aged 18-49. By comparison, Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies on Fox snagged 7.8 million viewers for a 3.2/9 share rating in the same demographic.