Fast National ratings for Sunday, January 6, 2013.
Overrun from an NFL Wild Card playoff game gave FOX a huge 7 p.m. hour and helped the network carry Sunday night in all key measures.
Meanwhile, CBS got decent audiences but middling demos for its returning dramas. NBC got strong demos for the two-hour premiere of “The Biggest Loser” and ABC saw “Happy Endings” and “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” fail to work as 10 p.m. hour counter-programming.
[Stay tuned for “Downton Abbey” ratings, since the returning “Masterpiece” favorite likely drew a solid number of viewers for its third season premiere.]
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 5.6 rating for Sunday night, far ahead of NBC’s 2.2 rating in the key demographic. ABC’s 1.8 rating and CBS’ 1.7 key demo rating followed.
Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 13.68 million viewers to go with a 7.8 rating/12 share for Sunday primetime. CBS was second with a 6.2/9 and 9.665 million viewers, well ahead of the 4.0/6 and 6.43 million viewers for NBC. ABC trailed with a 3.3/5 and 5.45 million viewers.
7 p.m. – Overrun from the matchup between the Redskins and Seahawks let FOX dominated the 7 p.m. hour with 26.61 million viewers and a 9.8 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was far back in second with 9.52 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for “60 Minutes.” There was a big drop to the 5.21 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for “Dateline: NBC” and then to the 3.385 million viewers and 0.9 key demo rating for a “Once Upon a Time” repeat on ABC.
8 p.m. – A new episode of “Once Upon a Time” took over first place for the 8 p.m. hour, bringing 9.04 million viewers to ABC and finishing second with a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ repeat of “Person of Interest” was second overall with 8.43 million viewers and fourth with a 1.3 key demo rating. FOX’s “The Simpsons” and “Bob’s Burgers” were boosted by football to 8.08 million viewers and an hour-winning 3.8 key demo rating. NBC’s “Dateline” was fourth with 6.59 million viewers and third with a 1.8 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – CBS became the third different network to win a Sunday hour with 9.985 million viewers for “The Good Wife,” which finished fourth with a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Revenge” was second with just under 7 million viewers and third with a 2.3 key demo rating. NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” premiere was a close third with 6.98 million viewers and a close second with a 2.9 key demo rating. FOX’s “Family Guy” (7.095 million and a 3.5 key demo) and “American Dad” (5.57 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo) won the hour in the demo and finished fourth overall.
10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” improved on its lead-in to 10.73 million viewers and finished second with a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” averaged 6.96 million viewers and won the hour with a 3.0 key demo rating. On ABC, new episodes of “Happy Endings” (2.57 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo) and “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” (2.23 million and a 0.9 key demo) failed to get a big sampling.
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.