Fast National ratings for Sunday, January 15, 2012.
Early returns suggest that NBC’s coverage of the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards was down very slightly (mostly among young viewers) from last year, but the ceremony was still Sunday night’s most watched piece of scheduled programming. The Globes couldn’t compete, however, with overrun from FOX’s coverage of the Giants’ upset win over the Packers, which spread into primetime for part of the country and gave the network’s entire schedule, including the series premiere of “Napoleon Dynamite,” a huge bump.
Due to the football and the live nature (even on the West Coast) of NBC’s Golden Globes show, Sunday’s ratings are as preliminary as they get and probably shouldn’t be taken particularly seriously unless you’re looking at ABC or CBS.
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged an 8.0 rating, easily tops in the coveted demographic, with NBC’s 3.6 rating a distant second. ABC’s 2.1 rating and the 2.0 rating for CBS followed.
FOX also won Sunday overall, with an estimated 20.17 million viewers and an 11.1 rating/17 share, far ahead of the 12.34 million viewers and 7.5/12 for NBC. CBS’ 5.8/9 and 9.165 million viewers and the 4.0/6 and 6.68 million viewers for ABC trailed.
[As a point of entirely inexact comparison, NBC’s Golden Globes night last year, when the late playoff game was on CBS, averaged 12.77 million viewers and 3.8 key demo rating, but that includes the red carpet hour.]
7 p.m. – NFL overrun from New York and Green Bay averaged a whopping 40.08 million viewers and a 14.3 rating among adults 18-49 for FOX in the 7 p.m. hour. CBS’ “60 Minutes” was a distant second overall with 8.72 million viewers and finished third with a 1.5 key demo rating. NBC’s Golden Globes preshow averaged 7.345 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating. Fourth place went to ABC with 5.14 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating for “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
8 p.m. – NBC moved into first overall for the 8 p.m. hour with 14.31 million viewers for the start of the Golden Globes, but finished second with a 4.2 rating among adults 18-49. Still coasting on its football glow, FOX was second overall and first in the demo with “The Simpsons” and “Napoleon Dynamite” averaging 12.61 million viewers and a 5.7 key demo rating. [“Napoleon Dynamite” contributed 9.51 million and a 4.6 key demo rating, but those numbers are too football skewed to be taken seriously.] CBS got a strong premiere for “Undercover Boss,” which averaged 11.56 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo rating in third overall and fourth in the demo. Facing this torrent of new competition, ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” held up very well with 9.84 million viewers and a 3.3 key demo rating, a reasonable drop from last week.
9 p.m. – The Golden Globes had NBC in first alone for the 9 p.m. hour with 13.55 million viewers and a 4.2 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “The Good Wife” had a pretty weak showing with 9.31 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating. Also stumbling against the Globes was ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” with over 7.83 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating. FOX’s “Family Guy” and a second “Napoleon Dynamite” episode averaged just under 7.83 million viewers and a 4.0 key demo rating. [The second “Napoleon Dynamite” episode averaged 7.15 million viewers and a 3.6 key demo rating, but who knows what to make of that?]
10 p.m. – NBC closed primetime in first with 14.155 million viewers and a 4.2 rating among adults 18-49 for the end of the Golden Globes. CBS’ repeat of “CSI: Miami” averaged 7.07 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, beating the 3.93 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for ABC’s “Pan Am.”
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.