TV ratings: ‘Sunday Night Football’ dominates; Fox benefits from NFL overrun

“Sunday Night Football” elevated NBC to the top of the TV ratings but Fox followed closely behind in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic with help from an NFL overrun.

The New England Patriots-San Diego Chargers game on NBC notched a rating of 6.1 in the key demographic, according to early Nielsen ratings. Roughly 18.2 million people tuned in, making it the most watched program of the night.

Overall, NBC topped the night with 15.2 million viewers and a rating of 5.0 in the key demographic.

The NFL overrun on Fox nabbed second most watched broadcast of the night, averaging about 18 million viewers and a rating of 5.9 in the key demographic.

However, due to the live nature of sports, ratings for NBC for the night and for Fox from 7 to 8 p.m. are approximate.

“The Simpsons” benefited from the NFL lead-in, surging 87% in the key demographic with a rating of 2.8. It was also up 88% in total viewers, averaging 6.4 million. The show tied for fifth in the key demographic with an NBC football broadcast.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” was also up 50% from last week in the key demographic with a rating of 2.1. The show drew in 4.3 million viewers, an increase of 37% from last week.

“Bob’s Burgers” grew 60% to a rating of 1.6 in the key demographic. It drew in 3.2 million viewers. “Family Guy” stayed even with a rating of 2.2 in the key demographic and 4.3 million viewers.

The network was second in the key demographic with a rating of 3.3. It took third overall with 8.4 million viewers.

On CBS, “60 Minutes” rounded out the top five most watched programs of the night with 11.8 million viewers. Though it was the most watched non-sports broadcast, the episode was down 54% from last week when it was boosted by an NFL broadcast.

The network’s “I Love Lucy” Christmas special was up 7% from last year’s broadcast with 9.4 million viewers and a rating of 1.4 in the key demographic.

“The Mentalist” and “CSI,” also on the network, dropped slightly from last week to tie their series lows.

The network was second most watched with 9.4 million viewers.

CBS tied for third with ABC in the key demographic, both networks posting ratings of 1.4.

ABC averaged 5.1 million viewers.

“Once Upon a Time” was the most watched program on the network, averaging 6.1 million viewers. It fell 5% from last week.

“Revenge” was up 20% from last week with a rating of 1.2 in the key demographic. It was up 12% in total viewers, racking up 4.6 million. “Resurrection” was also up 11% from last week with a rating of 1.0.

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