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Football gives
NBC an easy Sunday win


Averages a 5.4 in 18-49s, 29 percent ahead of Fox

Nov 30, 2009

With just a few weeks left in the NFL season, NBC continued its Sunday night domination, beating second-place Fox by 29 percent last night.

A "Sunday Night Football"-fueled NBC averaged a 5.4 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, with Fox well behind at 4.2/10.

"SNF" averaged a 6.6 from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., though as a reminder, ratings for football are approximate. Fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.

The game, in which the Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-17, was between two squads fighting for their playoff lives. They are both now 6-5 and likely scrapping for a wild card berth, with the 8-3 Cincinnati Bengals standing atop the AFC North.

Fox, too, got a boost from the NFL, with football overrun and "The OT" averaging a 4.9 at 7 p.m. Its entire animated lineup got a boost from that strong lead-in, with "Family Guy" edging ABC's "Desperate Housewives" by 0.1 for No. 1 on the night among non-sports shows. "Guy" averaged a 4.4.

"Housewives" boosted ABC to third during primetime with a 3.1/8. CBS placed fourth at 2.6/6 and Univision fifth at 1.1/3.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

Fox was first at 7 p.m. with a 4.9 average for football overrun and “The OT” postgame show, followed by NBC with a 2.7 for “Football Night in America.” CBS was third with a 2.6 for “60 Minutes,” ABC fourth with a 2.1 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and Univision fifth with a 1.0 for “Noche de Estrellas.”

NBC took the lead at 8 p.m. with a 5.9 for football pregame and the first part of “SNF,” while Fox slid to second with a 3.8 for “The Simpsons” (4.2) and “The Cleveland Show” (3.5). CBS was third with a 3.4 for the penultimate episode of “The Amazing Race,” ABC fourth with a season-low 3.0 for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and Univision fifth with a 1.2 for the first of three hours of “Premios TV y Novelas.”

At 9 p.m. NBC led with a 6.5 for football, followed by ABC with a 4.3 for “Housewives.” Fox was third with a 3.8 for “Guy” (4.4) and “American Dad” (3.3), CBS fourth with a 2.0 for the first half of the movie “A Dog Named Christmas” and Univision fifth with a 1.2 for more “Premios.”

NBC was first again at 10 p.m. with a 6.7 for more football, with ABC second with a 3.0 for “Brothers & Sisters.” CBS was third with a 2.2 for the end of its movie and Univision fourth with a 1.0 for the final hour of “Premios.”

NBC also led the night among households with an 8.4 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 7.8/12, ABC third at 6.2/10, Fox fourth at 5.5/8 and Univision fifth at 1.5/2.



Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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