Fast National ratings for Sunday, February 17, 2013.
The season premiere of “The Amazing Race” helped CBS control Sunday night overall, while “Family Guy” was a key catalyst in helping FOX to a narrow win among young viewers.
Meanwhile, ABC’s Sunday lineup struggled for the second consecutive week, but unlike last week, the network can’t attribute below average performances to competition from the Grammy Awards.
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, edging out ABC and CBS’ 1.6 rating in the key demographic. [ABC has the advantage in the hours the networks went head-to-head.] NBC was fourth with a 1.2 key demo rating for Sunday night.
Overall, though, CBS won Sunday primetime comfortably with an estimated 9.17 million viewers and a 5.7 rating/9 share. ABC was a distant second with 5.86 million viewers and a 3.5/6, topping the 2.8/4 and 4.41 million viewers for NBC. FOX trailed with a 2.1/3 and 3.75 million viewers.
[Note that CBS had a very slight golf overrun into the 7 p.m. hour for the Eastern portion of the country. It’s unlikely to have any real impact on the numbers. And while it’s not relevant to these figures, it’d be logical to expect both “The Walking Dead” and the NBA All-Star Game to top most of the network primetime options. The finale of “Dowton Abbey” may also have eaten into network numbers.]
7 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first overall with 9.495 million viewers for “60 Minutes,” which finished second for the 7 p.m. hour among adults 18-49 with a 1.3 rating. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was second overall with 6.905 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.5 key demo rating. “Dateline” had NBC in third with 5.39 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating. FOX followed with a repeat of “The Simpsons” (2.2 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo) and a new “The Cleveland Show” (2.64 million and a 1.1 key demo).
8 p.m. – The season premiere of “The Amazing Race” averaged 9.54 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 8 p.m. hour for CBS. ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” was second with 7.5 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating, improving over last week, but still way below the season averages. FOX’s “The Simpsons” (4.605 million and a 2.0 key demo) and “Bob’s Burgers” (4.06 million and a 1.9 key demo) followed. NBC’s repeat of “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” was fourth with 4.25 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “The Good Wife” averaged 8.48 million viewers to win the 9 p.m. hour for CBS, but hit a series low with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Revenge” was second with 5.99 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating. FOX was third overall and won the hour in the key demo with “Family Guy” (4.85 million and a 2.4 key demo) and “American Dad” (4.14 million and a 1.9 key demo). NBC’s “SNL in the ’90s” reairing averaged 3.77 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” completed CBS’ overall sweep with 9.18 million viewers and finished second with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “SNL” special won the key demo with a 1.6 rating and finished a distant second with 4.23 million viewers. ABC’s encore of the “Zero Hour” premiere averaged 3.05 million viewers and a 0.9 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.