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NBC’s Sunday Night Football Takes a Bite Out of Season Premieres on ABC, Fox and CBS

Oct 1, 2012  •  Post A Comment

NBC’s broadcast Sunday night of a big NFL showdown between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles gave the Peacock Network an easy ratings win, according to Nielsen overnight figures. It also poured cold water on a night of season premieres for the other big four networks.

TVbytheNumbers.com reports that the football game dominated prime time with an 8.1 average rating in the key 18-49 demo. Fox benefited from football too, with its NFL overrun delivering a 7.8 in the demo and inflating the network’s overall numbers for prime time. The report notes that figures will be subject to more than the usual adjustments due to the live telecasts.

Based on the overnights, NBC won prime time with a 6.4 average rating in 18-49, followed by Fox (4.6 average), ABC (2.7) and CBS (2.1). In total viewers it was again NBC on top (16.6 million), followed by Fox (11.0 million), CBS (10.5 million) and ABC (8.4 million).

The best of the season premieres was ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” with a 3.8 in the 18-49 demo, with Fox’s “The Simpsons” just a notch below with a 3.7. Fox also had a good number for “Family Guy,” a 3.3. Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers” and “American Dad” each settled for 2.5 averages.

ABC’s “Revenge” premiered to a solid 3.2 average rating in viewers 18-49, while the network’s new show “666 Park Avenue” opened to a 2.2 in the 10 p.m. slot.

The network that struggled the most was CBS, with its season premiere of “The Amazing Race” delivering the network’s best demo number of the night, a 2.5 average in 18-49. CBS’s “The Mentalist” premiered to a 2.1, while “The Good Wife” settled for a 1.8 for its season premiere. “60 Minutes” managed only a 1.8 — down 22% from its season premiere a year ago.

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