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[09/08/14 - 08:41 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Dominates with Return of "Sunday Night Football"
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/7/14):

NBC (18.030 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.7, #1) was of course the network to beat on Sunday with the return of "Football Night in America #1" (7.569 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #6), "Football Night in America #2" (11.946 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.3, #4), "Football Night in America #3" (18.604 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.4, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (21.224 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.0, #1).

FOX (7.983 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) then was a distant second place with its combination of "NFL Overrun" (19.095 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.1, #2), "The OT" (10.372 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.1, #5) and the two-hour premiere of "Utopia" (4.609 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #8).

Next up was CBS (6.692 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) and its lineup of "60 Minutes" (7.913 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T10), "Big Brother 16" (7.134 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7), "Unforgettable" (6.993 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9) and "Reckless" (4.728 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13).

And finally, ABC (2.515 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) closed out the evening with the special "The ABC's of Schoolhouse Rock" (2.122 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15), a new "Wipeout" (2.345 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), the season finale of "Wipeout" (2.541 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12) and a repeat of "Shark Tank" (3.053 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T10).


Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/8/13):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for CBS, FOX and NBC are approximate.]

NBC (18.720 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.2, #1) was the top draw on Sunday with the return of "Sunday Night Football" (23.251 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.1, #1). Kicking off the night then were its pregame specials "Football Night in America #1" (6.471 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #7), "Football Night in America #2" (8.752 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5) and "Football Night in America #3" (18.284 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 7.0, #4).

FOX (9.857 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2) then took home a distant second place with its mix of "NFL Overrun" (21.530 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.9, #2), "The OT" (19.745 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 7.5, #3) plus repeats of "The Simpsons" (6.505 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6), "Bob's Burgers" (4.097 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #10), "Family Guy" (3.731 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T11) and another "Family Guy" (3.533 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T11).

Next up was CBS (7.241 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with a full hour of "Tennis Overrun" (8.126 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #13) alongside "60 Minutes" (8.831 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8), "Big Brother 15" (6.814 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8) and the summer finale of "Unforgettable" (5.195 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T16).

And finally, ABC (3.948 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) closed out the night with repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.812 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T16) and "Shark Tank" (3.643 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15) followed by the season finale of "Secret Millionaire" (4.341 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14) and a repeat "Castle" (2.994 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.6, #18).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+37.50% - Secret Millionaire
+5.56% - Big Brother 15
-10.00% - Unforgettable

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+37.50% - Secret Millionaire (vs. Once Upon a Time (Repeat))
+28.57% - Unforgettable (vs. The Good Wife (Repeat))
-7.14% - Sunday Night Football
-9.52% - Big Brother 15
-10.26% - Football Night in America #3
-11.43% - Football Night in America #2
-19.23% - Football Night in America #1

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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