nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, october 2, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 19 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (14.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.9, #1) dominated the competition last night thanks to its coverage of "Sunday Night Football" (17.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.3, #1). Kicking off the night were pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (6.75 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T14), "Football Night in America #2" (9.43 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #4) and "Football Night in America #3" (12.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.9, #3).

CBS (12.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then took home a distant second place with its mix of "NFL Overrun" (18.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.5, #2), "60 Minutes" (16.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T5), "The Amazing Race" (10.77 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T7), "The Good Wife" (10.78 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T16) and "CSI: Miami" (9.83 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T14).

Next up was FOX (5.85 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with encores of "The Cleveland Show" (6.31 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 2.4, #13) and "The Simpsons" (4.55 million viewers, #19; adults 18-49: 2.0, #18) followed by new episodes of "The Simpsons" (6.12 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T7), "The Cleveland Show" (5.47 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 2.6, #11), "Family Guy" (6.91 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T5) and "American Dad" (5.71 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 2.7, #10).

And finally, the return of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.44 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #19) lead into new episodes of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (7.11 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T16), "Desperate Housewives" (9.03 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #9) and "Pan Am" (7.75 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.5, #12) on ABC (7.58 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+34.62% - 60 Minutes
+4.55% - CSI: Miami
+1.39% - Sunday Night Football
0.00% - The Amazing Race
-4.55% - The Good Wife
-6.45% - Desperate Housewives
-8.70% - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
-10.00% - American Dad
-14.63% - Family Guy
-16.13% - The Cleveland Show
-19.35% - Pan Am
-21.05% - The Simpsons

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - 60 Minutes
+2.82% - Sunday Night Football
-6.90% - American Dad
-9.09% - The Amazing Race
-10.26% - Family Guy
-16.00% - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
-16.13% - The Cleveland Show
-16.67% - Pan Am (vs. Brothers & Sisters)
-16.67% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-26.83% - The Simpsons
-28.13% - CSI: Miami
-32.56% - Desperate Housewives
-47.50% - The Good Wife (vs. Undercover Boss)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/3/10):

NBC (15.26 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.7, #1) steamrolled the competition last night thanks to its "Sunday Night Football" (18.58 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.1, #2) coverage. Leading off the night was its usual mix of "Football Night in America #1" (5.98 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 2.0, #17), "Football Night in America #2" (8.36 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T11) and "Football Night in America #3" (14.84 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.3, #3).

Second place then went to FOX (9.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.3, #2) with its combination of "NFL Overrun" (18.61 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.6, #1), "The OT" (9.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 4.3, #T4), "The Simpsons" (8.59 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 4.1, #6), "The Cleveland Show" (6.65 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T11), "Family Guy" (7.94 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 3.9, #8) and the return of "American Dad" (6.05 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 2.9, #14).

Next up was CBS (12.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) with new episodes of "60 Minutes" (12.48 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #16), "The Amazing Race 17" (10.73 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.3, #9), "Undercover Boss" (13.08 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.0, #7) and the relocated "CSI: Miami" (11.84 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.2, #10).

And finally on ABC (9.50 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4), the season premiere of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (7.06 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.8, #18) followed by new episodes of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8.63 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.5, #15), "Desperate Housewives" (13.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.3, #T4) and "Brothers & Sisters" (9.27 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 3.0, #13) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research