TV Ratings: NBC's Falcons-Eagles game crushes FOX's Emmys telecast on Sunday

Sunday Night Football predictably rules Sunday

By Daniel Fienberg Monday, Sep 19, 2011 12:53 PM

Falcons QB Matt Ryan

Credit: Butch Dill/AP

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Fast National ratings for Sunday, September 18, 2011.

FOX's telecast of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards appears to be down from last year's show in total viewers, but pretty much level among adults 18-49. That's not so bad when you consider that last year's telecast was on NBC, which means that it didn't have to deal with NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast, which dominated this Sunday's ratings.

Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 7.4 rating, easily beating FOX's 3.6 rating in the key demographic. CBS was a distant third with a 2.1 rating, while ABC posted a 1.3 rating for the night.

Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 18.8 million viewers and a 10.9 rating/17 share. FOX was far back in second with a 6.4/10 and 10.38 million viewers. An NFL-boosted CBS was third with 8.74 million viewers and a 5.6/9. That kept ABC in fourth with a 3.3/5 and 5.1 million viewers.

[Reminder: With the Emmys airing live across the country and football encroaching into CBS' primetime, these numbers reflect time period data and do not reflect specific ratings for the overall Emmy telecast.]

7 p.m. - CBS started primetime in first with "60 Minutes," which was elevated by NFL overrun to 16.05 million viewers and a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's Emmys red carpet coverage averaged 9.05 million viewers overall to edge out the 8.93 million viewers for NBC's NFL pregame, though NBC averaged a 3.4 key demo rating, compared to the 3.2 key demo rating for FOX. ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" repeat was fourth with 5.4 million viewers.

8 p.m. - NBC shot into first for the 8 p.m. hour with the start of a tight game between the Eagles and Falcons, which averaged 19.88 million viewers and an 8.1 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's Emmys coverage averaged 11.84 million viewers and a 3.9 key demo rating in second. CBS' "The Good Wife" repeat (and some "60 Minutes" overrun) averaged 7.435 million viewers, beating the 4.745 million viewers for ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" repeat.

9 p.m. - The Sunday Night Football Game improved to 22.27 million viewers and a 9.4 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC in the 9 p.m. hour. FOX's Emmys telecast slipped overall to 11.41 million viewers, but rose among adults 18-49 to a 4.0 rating. CBS' "The Good Wife" repeat averaged 5.742 million viewers, beating the 4.655 million for ABC's "20/20."

10 p.m. - Football stayed in first for the 10 p.m. hour with the Philadelphia/Atlanta game averaging 20.11 million viewers and an 8.8 key demo rating. FOX's Emmys coverage went down to 9.23 million viewers and a 3.1 key demo rating. CBS' "CSI: Miami" repeat averaged 5.73 million viewers, topping the 5.61 million viewers for ABC's "20/20."

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

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.