TV Ratings: Giants-Bills NFL preseason opener leads NBC on Sunday

Fast National ratings for August 3, 2014.

The NFL Hall of Fame Game, the pro football preseason opener, helped NBC dominated Sunday night among young viewers and also hold off “Big Brother” and CBS for an overall win.

The Giants-Bills tilt took a small bite out of CBS's numbers (impacted very slightly by golf overrun), but mostly left things steady. 

All numbers are subject to change, but this year's Hall of Fame Game appears to be down a comfortable margin from last year's preseason opener, which featured the Cowboys.

On to the numbers…

Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 2.2 rating for Sunday night, doubling up CBS' 1.1 rating in the key demographic. ABC and FOX both averaged a 0.9 key demo rating for the night.

Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 6.7 million viewers and a 4.1 rating/7 share for Sunday night, topping the 3.9/7 and 6.16 million viewers for CBS. ABC was third with 3.885 million viewers and a 2.3/4, followed by FOX's 1.3/2 and 2.01 million viewers.

7 p.m. – CBS started started primetime in first with 7.8 million viewers for “60 Minutes,” coming in second with a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “America's Funniest Home Videos” repeat was second with 4.83 million viewers and also did a 1.0 key demo rating. NBC's “Wrestlemania 30” coverage averaged 3.9 million viewers and an hour-winning 1.2 key demo rating. On FOX, repeats of “American Dad” and “Bob's Burgers” averaged 1.36 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating. 

8 p.m. – The start of the Giants-Bills game averaged 9.03 million viewers and a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49 to lead NBC in the 8 p.m. hour. CBS' “Big Brother” averaged 6.67 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating for second. ABC's “Wipeout” averaged 3.65 million viewers for third and a 0.9 key demo rating for fourth, compared to the 2.355 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for FOX's repeats of “The Simpsons.”

9 p.m. – The preseason football coverage dropped in the 9 p.m. hour, but still led the way with 8.01 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC. CBS' “Unforgettable” averaged 5.765 million viewers for second and a 1.0 key demo rating for third. ABC's “Rising Star” averaged 3.25 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, compared to the 2.32 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for repeats of “Family Guy” and “American Dad” on FOX. 

10 p.m. – NBC's Hall of Fame Game coverage averaged 5.85 million viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour. CBS' “Reckless” averaged 4.4 million viewers for second and a 0.6 key demo rating for third, compared to the 3.81 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for ABC's “Rising Star.”

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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