TV Ratings: NBC's Patriots-49ers thriller, CBS' NFL overrun lead Sunday

It's hard to tell how the 'Survivor: Philippines' premiere did

By Daniel Fienberg Monday, Dec 17, 2012 12:35 PM

Colin Kaepernick

Credit: AP

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Fast National ratings for Sunday, December 16, 2012.

An exciting Sunday Night Football showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots helped NBC mostly hold off CBS, which was boosted by its own NFL thriller, an overtime game between Pittsburgh and Dallas.

Between the live nature of both football games, as well as delays and preemptions for President Obama's speech at the Newtown Memorial Service, expect at least some shuffling when these numbers become official.

Unfortunately, that means that we can't give anything resembling concrete ratings for CBS' three-hour "Survivor" finale. Sorry about that.

One thing we can say for certain: Virtually nobody cared about Former Bachelorette Ashley's televised wedding.

On to the numbers...

Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 6.2 rating for Sunday night, beating CBS' 4.5 rating in the key demographic. FOX averaged a 1.5 key demo rating, topping the 1.1 key demo rating for ABC.

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 16.96 million viewers to go with a 10.1 rating/16 share, edging out NBC's 9.9/15 and 16.69 million viewers for Sunday, though smart money would predict NBC moving ahead in Final figures.

7 p.m. - CBS started primetime in first with 27.8 million viewers and an 8.5 rating among adults 18-49 for an hour of NFL overrun, president preemption and "60 Minutes" on the West Coast. NBC's "Football Night in America" was second with 8.56 million viewers and a 2.9 key demo rating. A repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" averaged 6.31 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for third. On FOX, a repeat of "The Cleveland Show" and a new episode of "The Cleveland Show" averaged 3.08 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating.

8 p.m. - With "60 Minutes" in some markets and the "Survivor: Philippines" finale in others, CBS won the 8 p.m. hour overall with 17.79 million viewers and finished second with a 4.6 rating among adults 18-49. The delayed start of NBC's football game was a close second with 17.7 million viewers and dominated the hour with a 6.5 key demo rating. ABC's repeat of "Wipeout" was third overall with 3.74 million viewers and fourth with a 1.2 key demo rating. FOX was third in the demo and fourth overall with "The Simpsons" (4.405 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating) and "Bob's Burgers" (2.79 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo).

9 p.m. - NBC's football game rose to 21.91 million viewers and an 8.0 rating among adults 18-49 to dominate the 9 p.m. hour. CBS' "Survivor" finale drew 11.73 million viewers and a 3.4 key demo rating in second. FOX's repeats of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" averaged 3.29 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating in third, beating the 3.14 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating for ABC's "The Bachelorette: Ashley and JP's Wedding."

10 p.m. - The Patriots and 49ers finished primetime in first for NBC with 18.58 million viewers and a 7.2 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' "Survivor: Philippines" finale averaged 10.51 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo rating in second. And ABC's "The Bachelorette: Ashley and JP's Wedding" was third with 3.57 million viewers and a 0.9 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, particularly in the case of live events.

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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.