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[02/23/15 - 08:32 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: Oscars Hand ABC a Dominant Victory
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 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (2/22/15):

ABC (30.756 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.8, #1) was of course the top draw on Sunday with its primetime portion of "The 87th Annual Academy Awards" (34.628 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.3, #1). Leading off the night then were "Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet - Part 1" (19.311 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.6, #4), "Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet - Part 2" (23.589 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.1, #3) and "Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet - Part 3" (30.007 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 8.3, #2).

A year ago, "The 86th Annual Academy Awards" delivered 40.168 million viewers and a 12.1 rating among adults 18-49 in the fast nationals.

The silver went to FOX (2.139 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) with its all-repeat lineup of "Bob's Burgers" (2.007 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9), "The Simpsons" (2.243 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #6), another "The Simpsons" (2.988 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (1.749 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9), "Family Guy" (1.914 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) and another "Bob's Burgers" (1.933 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7).

Next up was CBS (4.573 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) and an expanded "60 Minutes" (6.518 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) followed by the feature "Act of Valor" (3.406 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T13).

And finally, repeats of "Dateline NBC" (5.388 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7) and the crossover episodes of "Chicago Fire" (2.330 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2.449 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) and "Chicago PD" (2.756 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T13) closed out the evening on NBC (3.231 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-8.79% - Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet - Part 3 -10.29% - Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet - Part 2 -13.21% - Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet - Part 1 -14.88% - The 87th Annual Academy Awards


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/23/14):

NBC (13.522 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its closing mix of "Nancy & Tonya" (12.592 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2), "2014 Olympic Winter Games" (15.251 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) and "Growing Up Fisher" (9.396 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4).

FOX (7.000 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then took home the silver with repeats of "Bob's Burgers" (4.202 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7) and "American Dad" (3.972 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7) followed by the rain delayed "Daytona 500" (7.971 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3).

Next up was ABC (5.105 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) and its all-repeat lineup of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.161 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7), "The Proposal" (5.084 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #6) and "Castle" (4.092 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11).

And finally, CBS (5.519 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) closed out the evening with a new "60 Minutes" (8.101 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10), the season premiere of "The Amazing Race 23" (7.424 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5) and repeats of "The Mentalist" (3.428 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #12) and "The Good Wife" (3.125 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - 60 Minutes
-31.25% - 2014 Olympic Winter Games

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+312.50% - 2014 Olympic Winter Games (vs. Various)
+89.23% - Daytona 500 (vs. Various)
-7.69% - 60 Minutes
-11.11% - The Amazing Race 23

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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