TV Ratings: Colts-Patriots rout, ‘Scorpion’ help CBS dominate Sunday

Fast National ratings for Sunday, January 18, 2015.

The AFC Championship between the Colts and Patriots was a rain-soaked rout, but it still dominated Sunday in all measures and gave a boost to a special, delayed episode of “Scorpion.”

Due to the live nature of the football, the late start for “Scorpion” and the fact that the “Scorpion” episode aired in totally different hours for half of the country, these numbers are pretty much wholly unconnected to actual ratings for either the football game or the freshman drama.

[UPDATE: CBS is saying the stand-alone ratings for “Scorpion,” which started at 10:28 for much of the country, but 7:28 on the West Coast, include an average audience of 12.29 million viewers and a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49.]

Nearly everybody else got out of the way of the football, other than foolhardy ABC, which got predictably dismal ratings for “Galavant,” “Resurrection” and “Revenge.”

On to the numbers…

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 10.3 rating for Sunday night, tops in the key demographic. FOX, which experienced a little NFL carryover, finished second with a 1.1 key demo rating, followed by NBC's 0.9 key demo rating and the 0.8 key demo rating for ABC.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 31.58 million viewers and a 17.2 rating/27 share for Sunday night. The other three networks were in a distant bunch. ABC's 3.85 million viewers and 2.4/4 topped NBC's 3.55 million viewers and 2.3/4. FOX averaged a 1.7/3 and 2.87 million viewers for the night.

7 p.m. – CBS' football coverage averaged 42.34 million viewers and a 13.5 rating among adults 18-49 to rule the 7 p.m. hour. ABC's “America's Funniest Home Videos” was second with 4.79 million viewers and third with a 0.9 key demo rating. NBC's “Dateline” was third with 4.23 million viewers and fourth with a 0.7 key demo rating. Although the NFC Championship had been over for a while, it's hard not to give the football most of the credit for the numbers for FOX's “Mulaney” (4.34 and a 1.5 key demo) and a “Simpsons” repeat (2.62 million and a 1.0 key demo rating). 

8 p.m. – As the football game got out of hand (or as it became “Scorpion” on the West Coast), CBS' coverage dropped to 39.16 million viewers and a 12.9 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Galavant” was second with 3.375 million viewers and third with a 0.9 key demo rating, topping the 3.01 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for NBC's airing of “Bridesmaids.” FOX's repeats of “The Simpsons” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” averaged 2.68 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – CBS still led the 9 p.m. hour with 30.47 million viewers and a 10.4 rating among adults 18-49 for football. ABC's “Resurrection” was second with 3.215 million viewers, but fourth with a 0.7 key demo rating, easily a series low. NBC's “Bridesmaids” averaged 3.06 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating, compared to the 2.44 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for FOX's repeats of “Family Guy” and “Bob's Burgers.”

10 p.m. – CBS' football and “Scorpion” averaged 14.35 million viewers and a 4.3 rating among adults 18-49 in the 10 p.m. hour. ABC's “Revenge” was second with 4.01 million and third with a 0.9 key demo rating, compared to the 3.9 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating for NBC's “Bridesmaids.”

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.

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