Fast National ratings for Sunday, October 26, 2014.
Live sporting events always make preliminary ratings inexact, and Sunday night was loaded with live sports, including a long football overrun on CBS, Game 5 of the World Series on FOX and a Saints-Packers primetime game on NBC. Most of the numbers you read below will change once the final numbers are figured out, but NBC should win handily among young adults no matter the East/West calculations, while sports-less ABC should be in fourth, getting no help from the low-rated “Star Wars Rebels” special.
For the night, NBC appears to have averaged a 5.0 rating among adults 18-49 and 13.76 million viewers overall. FOX was second (3.0, 10.99 million), followed by CBS (2.8, 13.77 million) and ABC (1.3, 4.47 million).
7 p.m. — The high-scoring Steelers-Colts matchup ran well into primetime for CBS, winning the hour with a 5.8 demo rating and 20.47 million viewers. FOX was second with early World Series play (3.6, 11.93 million), followed by NBC with its “Football Night in America” pregame (1.7, 5.66 million), and “Star Wars Rebels” a very distant fourth (0.6, 2.54 million).
8 p.m. — Between the end of “Football Night” and the start of Packers-Saints, NBC won the hour (5.5, 15.06 million). FOX was second with more World Series action (3.1, 11.58 million), CBS' “60 Minutes” (2.4, 13.46 million) and ABC's “Once Upon a Time” (2.3, 6.61 million).
9 p.m. — NBC's lead extended with only the football game (6.6, 17.95 million), followed by more World Series (2.5, 9.46 million), “Madam Secretary” for CBS (1.5, 11.59 million), and ABC's “Resurrection” (1.2, 4.39 million).
10 p.m. — Saints-Packers (6.3, 16.38 million) left its drama competition in the dust, with “The Good Wife” drawing a 1.4 rating and 9.56 million viewers for CBS, and “Revenge” a 1.1, 4.34 million for ABC.
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.