Fast National ratings for Sunday, October 30, 2011.
After two straight Sunday Night Football duds, NBC’s coverage of the Cowboys/Eagles game bounced back in a major way and gave the network a big Sunday win in all key measures.
Meanwhile, ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” held onto its full complement of young viewers (shedding a few older viewers) to solidify its position as one of the fall’s new hits. The same cannot be said for FOX’s “Allen Gregory,” which lost a huge chunk of its healthy “Simpsons” lead-in and could be in trouble as soon as next week.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 6.7 rating for the night, far ahead of CBS’ 3.7 rating in the key demographic. FOX’s 2.7 rating was good for third, while ABC’s 2.5 rating was fourth.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 16.77 million viewers in primetime along with a 10.1 rating/16 share. CBS got a big NFL overrun boost and averaged 14.52 million viewers and a 9.1/14 to finish a close second. ABC was well back in third with a 5.0/8 and 7.93 million viewers, beating FOX’s 3.2/5 and 5.6 million.
7 p.m. – Boosted by nearly 30 minutes of NFL overrun for much of the country, CBS’ football and “60 Minutes” averaged 23.53 million viewers and a 6.8 rating among adults 18-49 to rule the 7 p.m. hour. NBC’s “Football Night in America” averaged 9.09 million viewers and a 3.4 key demo rating for second. ABC’s repeat of the “Once Upon a Time” premiere was third overall with a 5.2 million viewers, beating FOX’s 5.13 million for repeats of “The Cleveland Show” and “The Simpsons,” but FOX had the advantage in the key demo.
8 p.m. – The start of the Philadelphia/Dallas showdown averaged 18.56 million viewers and a 7.2 rating among adults 18-49 to give NBC an easy 8 p.m. win. CBS’ “60 Minutes” and “The Amazing Race” averaged 14.29 million viewers for the hour, along with a 3.5 key demo rating. ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” lost over a million viewers to fall to 11.64 million, but the freshman drama equaled last week’s key demo numbers with a 3.9 rating. FOX got great numbers for the annual “Simpsons” Halloween episode (8.01 million and a 4.0 key demo rating) and then watched “Allen Gregory” stumble to 4.735 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The football game rose to 21.26 million viewers and an 8.5 key demo rating for NBC in the 9 p.m. hour. CBS’ “The Amazing Race” and “The Good Wife” collectively dropped to 10.12 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating. Third went to ABC with “Desperate Housewives,” which continued to benefit from its solid lead-in with 9.28 million viewers and a 3.1 key demo rating. FOX was fourth with “Family Guy” (5.965 million and a 3.2 key demo rating) and “The Cleveland Show” (4.63 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo).
10 p.m. – NBC’s football coverage wrapped up primetime with 18.16 million viewers and a 7.6 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “The Good Wife” and “CSI: Miami” averaged 10.14 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating in second. That left ABC’s “Pan Am” in third with 5.59 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating, down very slightly in viewers and up very slightly in the key demo from last week.
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.