Fast National ratings for Sunday, October 6, 2013.
The end of a high-scoring thriller between the Broncos and Cowboys spread 44 minutes into primetime and helped boost CBS to a comfortable overall win on Sunday, while coverage of the Houston-San Francisco Sunday Night Football game put NBC in first among young viewers.
Without any football overrun, FOX still got a solid performance for the annual Treehouse of Horrors episode of “The Simpsons,” as well as a new “Family Guy,” though it’s hard to compare this week’s performances to last week’s football-boosted premieres.
Similarly, comparing this week’s non-football CBS numbers to last week’s premieres probably isn’t helpful, especially since CBS also aired the NFL Network’s late game in San Diego.
It’s easier to compare ABC’s Sunday to premiere levels, where we can see that “Once Upon a Time” posted only a small drop among young viewers — total retention among adults 18-34, ABC boasts — while the declines for “Revenge” and particularly “Betrayal” were steeper.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 4.9 rating for Sunday night, beating the 3.8 rating for CBS in the key demographic. There was a big drop to FOX’s 2.1 key demo rating and the 1.5 key demo rating for ABC.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 15.16 million viewers and a 9.3 rating/15 share for Sunday, topping the 7.5/12 and 12.61 million viewers for NBC. ABC was third with 5.3 million viewers and a 3.3/5, bettering the 2.7/4 and 4.51 million viewers for FOX.
7 p.m. – CBS dominated the 7 p.m. hour with 44 minutes of football and the start of “60 Minutes” averaging 26.88 million viewers and an 8.3 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Football Night in America” averaged 8.16 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating for second. FOX’s repeats of “The Simpsons” averaged 3.71 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, topping the 2.875 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for an encore of “Once Upon a Time” on ABC.
8 p.m. – CBS stayed in first for the 8 p.m. hour with 14.965 million viewers for football-inflated “60 Minutes” and the start of “The Amazing Race,” finishing second with a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49. The start of Sunday Night Football averaged 14.21 million viewers for second and moved NBC into first with a 5.4 key demo rating. ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” was third with 7.66 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating. “The Simpsons” (6.31 million and a 2.9 key demo rating) was actually Sunday’s top non-sports program in the key demo and combined with “Bob’s Burgers” (4.22 million and a 1.9 key demo rating) to put FOX in fourth.
9 p.m. – NBC moved up to first in the 9 p.m. hour with 15.455 million viewers and a 6.1 rating among adults 18-49 for football coverage. CBS’ “The Amazing Race” and “The Good Wife” averaged 9.37 million viewers for second and a 2.1 key demo rating for third. ABC’s “Revenge” was with with 6.69 million viewers and fourth with a 1.9 key demo rating. FOX was fourth overall and second in the key demo with “Family Guy” (5.21 million and a 2.5 key demo) and “American Dad” (4.42 million and a 2.1 key demo).
10 p.m. – NBC’s football game averaged 12.61 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour. CBS was second with 9.41 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating for “The Good Wife” and “The Mentalist.” ABC’s “Betrayal” dropped to 3.965 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating in its second week.
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.