Fast National ratings for Sunday, October 23, 2011.
Saddled with a second consecutive rout, NBC’s Sunday Night Football took another big drop this week, falling behind FOX’s World Series coverage, which led Sunday night in all key measures.
Meanwhile, on the scripted side of things, ABC got a strong premiere for “Once Upon a Time, which didn’t just deliver its own happy ending, but also gave “Desperate Housewives” a boost. “Once Upon a Time” couldn’t help 10 p.m. drama “Pan Am,” however, as the freshman series continued to struggle.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 4.4 rating for the night, topping NBC’s 3.8 rating in the key demographic. There was a big drop to ABC’s 2.6 rating and then to the 2.3 rating for CBS.
Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 14.615 million viewers in primetime to go with an 8.8 rating/14 share. CBS was second with a 6.7/10 and 10.49 million viewers. That left normal Sunday champ NBC in a dismal third overall with a 5.9/9 and 9.57 million viewers, still beating out ABC’s 5.3/8 and nearly 8.6 million viewers.
7 p.m. – FOX started primetime in first with 17.64 million viewers and a 5.8 rating among adults 18-49 for NFL overrun and postgame coverage. CBS was second with the 12.65 million viewers and 2.5 key demo rating for “60 Minutes,” which was boosted by roughly 20 minutes of NFL overrun in a handful of major markets. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” averaged 6.61 million viewers beating the 5.32 million for NBC’s “Football Night in America.”
8 p.m. – The start of FOX’s coverage of World Series Game 3 between the Rangers and Cardinals averaged 13.99 million viewers to win the 8 p.m. hour overall, along with a second place 4.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” averaged 12.79 million viewers for second overall and while the drama’s 3.9 key demo rating was third for the hour, it finished second for each half-hour. NBC’s football pregame and Saints-Colts kickoff averaged 11.34 million viewers and a 4.4 key demo rating. On CBS, “The Amazing Race” averaged 9.91 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – FOX’s baseball averaged 13.72 million viewers to win the 9 p.m. hour and finished second with a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s football was second overall with 12.09 million viewers and won the hour with a 4.9 key demo rating. “The Good Wife” was third overall for CBS with 9.61 million viewers and finished fourth with a 2.0 key demo rating. ABC was fourth overall with the 9.22 million viewers for “Desperate Housewives” and third with a 3.0 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – Though it was airing out of FOX’s primetime window, baseball averaged 13.11 million viewers and a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49 for the 10 p.m. hour. CBS’ “CSI: Miami” was second overall with 9.8 million viewers, but third with a 2.1 key demo rating. With the Saints beating up on the Colts, NBC’s football slipped to 9.53 million viewers and a 4.1 key demo rating. ABC’s “Pan Am” averaged 5.77 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating, nearly identical to last week’s totals.
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.