TV ratings: Football rules Sunday, ABC dramas drop

Football on NBC and CBS propelled ratings victories Sunday night and topped Fox’s coverage of the World Series, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen.

NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” match-up between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints averaged 17.2-million viewers from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (note that those numbers will be revised when time-zone adjustments are added in later on Monday).

Going by household ratings culled from Nielsen’s 56 metered markets, the NFL game scored an 11.4, which is nearly 40% higher than Sunday night’s Fall Classic game, in which the San Francisco Giants earned 5 runs and shut out the Kansas City Royals.

On CBS, the Indianapolis Colts-Pittsburgh Steelers game ran into prime time and significantly boosted the network’s averages. From 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., CBS and NBC both averaged roughly 13.8-million viewers.

A full night of football programming gave NBC the advantage among key young adults in prime time, scoring a 5.0 in the 18-49 demographic. CBS’ non-sports shows “Madam Secretary” and “The Good Wife” were flat from last week.

Meanwhile the sports trifecta pushed down ABC’s lineup of dramas. Episodes of “Once Upon a Time,” “Resurrection” and “Revenge” all fell 14-15% from a week ago. The 7 p.m. TV movie “Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion” earned a weak 0.6 in the 18-49 demo, while bringing in 2.5-million viewers.

Not to be discounted is the cable TV juggernaut “The Walking Dead” on AMC. Cable ratings won’t be available until later Monday, but the show often tops sports among 18- to 49-year-olds.

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