Fast National ratings for Sunday, January 26, 2014.
The NFL held its annual star-depleted Pro Bowl on Sunday night and earned big enough ratings for a solid second place finish, coming in well behind the Grammy Awards telecast on CBS.
For the primetime segment, the Grammys and Pro Bowl were both down single-digits from last year.
Audiences were less enamored with ABC’s “The Bachelor: Sean and Catherine’s Wedding” and with FOX’s Animation Domination, which lagged well behind.
Remember, of course, that the Grammys aired live on the right side of the country, but taped on the left and that the telecast ran through 11:40-ish, while these numbers only reflect the 8-to-11 segment of the ratings. And the Pro Bowl aired live nationwise, so those numbers are also preliminary.
On to those numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 8.1 rating for Sunday night, easily tops in the key demographic. NBC was a distant second with a 3.1 key demo rating, followed by the 1.3 key demo rating for both ABC and FOX.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 25.87 million viewers and a 14.6 rating/22 share for Sunday night. NBC was far back in second with 9.27 million viewers and a 5.4/8. ABC’s 3.7/6 and 5.63 million viewers beat the 1.8/3 and 3.04 million viewers for FOX.
7 p.m. – CBS started the night in first overall with 14.47 million viewers for “60 Minutes,” which finished second with a 2.1 key demo rating. NBC’s Cris Collinsworth special and the start of the Pro Bowl averaged 9.65 million viewers for second and won the hour with a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was third with 6.98 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, ahead of the 1.78 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for repeats of “Bob’s Burgers” and “American Dad” on FOX.
8 p.m. – The Grammys took over first in the 8 p.m. hour with 29.23 million viewers and a 9.5 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. NBC’s Pro Bowl was second with 10.74 million viewers and a 3.5 key demo rating. The first hour of ABC’s “The Bachelor” wedding averaged 6.02 million viewers for second and tied for third with a 1.6 key demo rating. FOX also tied for third in the key demo and finished fourth overall with “The Simpsons” (3.91 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo) and “Bob’s Burgers” (3.29 million and a 1.5 key demo).
9 p.m. – The Grammys improved to 30.74 million viewers and a 10.8 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the 9 p.m. hour. NBC’s Pro Bowl slipped to 8.92 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo rating. ABC’s “Sean and Catherine’s Wedding” special averaged 6.27 million viewers for third and a 1.5 key demo rating for fourth. FOX was fourth overall and third in the key demo with “Family Guy” (4.19 million and a 2.0 key demo) and “American Dad” (3.28 million and a 1.5 key demo).
10 p.m. – The last primetime hour of the Grammys averaged 29.03 million viewers and a 10.0 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. NBC’s Pro Bowl was down to 7.76 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating, while ABC’s “Castle” repeat averaged 3.26 million viewers.
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.