Fast National ratings for Sunday, January 5, 2014.
The chilly Wild Card showdown between San Francisco and Green Bay came down to a last minute field goal and carried deep enough into primetime to help FOX win Sunday night in all measures.
With FOX’s primetime win inevitable, several other networks spotlighted specials, with NBC’s “Best of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” doing solid demo numbers and ABC’s “The Bachelor: Countdown to Juan Pablo” finishing close behind. The “Bachelor” special proved a compatible lead-in for “Revenge,” which did its best key demo numbers since early October.
Meanwhile, you might have noticed enhanced tweeting around “The Good Wife” without competition on HBO, Showtime or AMC, but that attention wasn’t linked to any real ratings growth, as the CBS favorite was down from its last original airing.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 6.6 rating for Sunday night, easily winning the key demographic. NBC averaged a 1.6 key demo rating for second, followed by ABC’s 1.5 key demo rating and the 1.3 key demo rating for CBS.
Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 17.75 million viewers and a 9.9 rating/15 share for Sunday primetime. CBS was a distant second with 8.33 million viewers and a 5.3/8. ABC and NBC both did a 3.6/5 for the night, with NBC averaging just over 5.8 million viewers, edging out ABC’s 5.795 million.
7 p.m. – The end of the football game and postgame dominated the 7 p.m. hour with 38.67 million viewers and a 12.7 rating among adults 18-49 for FOX. CBS’ “60 Minutes” was a distant second with 7.41 million viewers and third with a 1.2 key demo rating. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” finished third with 6.795 million viewers and second with a 1.6 key demo rating, well ahead of the 4.655 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for the first hour of NBC’s “Dateline.”
8 p.m. – With the Wild Card coverage going seven minutes into the hour, FOX held on to win 8 p.m. with football-boosted episodes of “The Simpsons” (12.04 million viewers and a 5.2 key demo rating) and “Bob’s Burgers” (6.35 million and a 3.2 key demo). NBC moved up to second with 7.14 million viewers for the second hour of “Dateline,” coming in third with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. A repeat of “Elementary” averaged 6.75 million viewers for third and a 1.0 key demo rating for fourth. ABC’s “The Bachelor: Countdown to Juan Pablo” was fourth with 6.32 million viewers, but second with a 1.8 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “The Good Wife” moved CBS into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 9.24 million viewers, but finished fourth with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Revenge” had a strong week with 6.69 million viewers for second and a 1.8 key demo rating for a close third. NBC’s “Best of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” special averaged 5.73 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating in its first hour. FOX fell to fourth overall, but still won the hour among young viewers with “Family Guy” (5.75 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo) and “American Dad” (5.03 million and a 2.5 key demo).
10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” closed primetime in first overall with 9.93 million viewers for CBS, coming in second with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Best of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” averaged 5.695 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.1 key demo rating. On ABC, “Betrayal” averaged 3.375 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.