TV ratings: ‘Sunday Night Football’ tackles key demographic; CBS wins night

“Sunday Night Football” helped NBC dominate the night in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic but CBS won overall with help from a NFL overrun and “60 Minutes.”

According to early Nielsen ratings, an NFL overrun on CBS was the most watched broadcast of the night with a rating of 7.6 in the key demographic and about 26.2 million viewers.

The Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game on NBC was No. 2 in the key demographic with a rating of 6.1. It was third most watched overall with about 17 million viewers.

NBC was most watched in the key demographic with a rating of 4.9. It averaged 13.8 million viewers, making it second to CBS overall.

CBS was first with 16.4 million viewers. It posted a rating of 3.5 in the key demographic.

However, due to the nature of live sports, ratings for CBS (from 7-8 p.m.), Fox (7-7:30 p.m.) and NBC for the night are approximate.

Among the non-sports related programming, CBS’ “60 Minutes” nabbed the most viewers and highest rating. It earned a 3.3 in the key demographic, making it fourth most watched overall in that category. It was second most watched overall with 17.2 million viewers.

“Madam Secretary” was up 20% from last week with a rating of 1.8 in the key demographic. It was the fourth most watched program overall with 12.8 million viewers.

Also on CBS, “The Good Wife” averaged 9.6 million viewers. It was down 13% from last week in the key demographic with a rating of 1.3.

Meanwhile, all of ABC’s shows saw slight increases in ratings, which made the network the third most watched overall with a rating of 1.6 in the key demographic and 5.8 million viewers.

“America’s Funniest Home Videos” had its biggest audience this season with about 6.2 million viewers. It averaged a rating of 1.2 in the key demographic.

Up 6% from last week, “Once Upon a Time” averaged 7.3 million viewers. It also grew in the key demographic with a rating of 2.5, making it the No. 5 most watched show in the desired category. The ABC drama is up 16% from the same point last year.

“Resurrection” increased 11% in total viewers, averaging 4.9 million this week. It earned a rating of 1.4 in the key demographic.

“Revenge” also grew from last week with a rating of 1.1 in the key demographic. It averaged 4.6 million viewers.

On Fox, “Bob’s Burgers” stayed even with its most recent original episode, the season premiere, with a rating of 1.5 in the key demographic. Without a NFL lead-in, “The Simpsons” also stayed even with a rating of 2.0.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” was down one-tenth from its last telecast with a rating of 1.6 in the key demographic. But it retained its total viewers, averaging 3.4 million.

However, the network’s freshman comedy “Mulaney” didn’t fare as well. The show was down three-tenths from its most recent original episode with a rating of 0.7 in the key demographic. Fox recently announced it cut the episode order from 16 to 13.

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