TV Ratings: ABC's Jaycee Dugard interview dominates Sunday

Diane Sawyer 'Primetime' interview draws huge numbers

By Daniel Fienberg Monday, Jul 11, 2011 11:59 AM

Diane Sawyer and Jaycee Dugard on ABC's 'Primetime'

Credit: ABC

Fast National ratings for Sunday, July 11, 2011.

ABC got huge late-evening numbers for Diane Sawyer's "Primetime" interview with kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard, using that two-hour sit-down to dominate Sunday in all measures.

Among adults 18-49, ABC had a 2.5 rating for the night, tops in the key demographic. CBS and FOX were second with a 1.4 rating, while NBC's 0.7 rating trailed.

Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 10.13 million viewers and a 6.3 rating/11 share. CBS was a distant second with a 3.8/7 and 5.99 million viewers. NBC's 2.88 million viewers and 1.9/3 edged out the 1.6/3 and 2.86 million viewers for FOX.

7 p.m. - CBS started primetime in first with 8.18 million viewers for "60 Minutes." ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" was second with 5.355 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's "Dateline" was third with 4.72 million viewers, which topped the 1.805 million for FOX's "American Dad" and "Bob's Burgers."

8 p.m. - The Sunday premiere of "Big Brother" kept CBS in first in the 8 p.m. hour with a solid 7.155 million viewers and a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second with the 5.6 million viewers for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." There was a big drop to the 3.3 million viewers for FOX's "The Simpsons" and "The Cleveland Show," while NBC's "America's Got Talent" repeat was fourth with 2.55 million viewers.

9 p.m. - ABC stormed into first with 14.09 million viewers and a 3.4 demo rating for the opening hour of the "Primetime" interview with Jaycee Dugard. CBS' "Undercover Boss" was a distant second with 4.015 million viewers, followed by FOX's 3.48 million viewers (for "Family Guy" and "American Dad") and the 2.215 million for NBC's "America's Got Talent."

10 p.m. - ABC's "Primetime" improved to 15.47 million viewers and a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49 for the 10 p.m. hour. CBS was second overall with nearly 4.6 million viewers for "CSI: Miami." A new "Marriage Ref" slipped to 2.04 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.