CBS finished in a first place tie with ABC Sunday night with a low 1.9 preliminary rating with Adults 18-49 from 7-11 pm. The entire regularly-scheduled line-up aired last night and turned in ratings similar to last week’s. New cop drama NYC 22 was down one tenth from last week’s premiere to a very undistinguished 1.4 rating. Amazing Race remains the class of CBS Sunday at a 2.5 rating, the second highest-rated show on network TV Sunday (behind ABC’s Once Upon a Time). Last year on this night: 60 Minutes (1.6), Amazing Race (2.6) and Hallmark Hall of Fame: Beyond the Blackboard (1.3).
CBS Sun High Low 3.18 3.25 4.01 4.08 4.15 4.22
60 Minutes 4.8 1.4 2.2 2.3 1.4 2.2 1.4 1.7*
Amaz Race 3.3 2.2 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.5*
Under. Boss3.0 2.3
Good Wife 2.7 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.3R 1.8 1.8*
NYC 22 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4*
CSI Miami 2.6 1.7 1.8 2.1 1.7
ABC also finished with a 1.9 rating for the evening, topped by Once Upon a Time (2.9 preliminary rating, very likely rising to a 3.0 in the official nationals). However, Desperate Housewives and GCB (which could really have used that precious lead in from a Once original episode) were replaced by a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Firelight, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. The TV movie averaged a mediocre 1.6 rating, far below what Houseeives would have received and slightly lower than the floundering GCB. Firelight dropped 45% from its high-rated lead in, very similar to the 50% drop for Beyond the Blackboard on the same night last year, when CBS was winding up its long association with the Hallmark movie package. On this night last year on ABC: AFHV (1.7), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2.2), Desperate Housewives (3.1) and Brothers & Sisters (1.9).
ABC Sun High Low 3.18 3.25 4.01 4.08 4.15 4.22
AFHV 2.0 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.2R 1.0R 1.6R 1.4R
Once Upon 4.0 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.7 1.0R 1.1R 2.9*
Desp House 3.2 1.8 2.6 2.6 2.6 —
Pan Am 3.1 0.7
GCB 2.3 1.5 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.5
FOX threw a party last night for itself to celebrate 25 years on the air and relatively few turned out. The night got off to a promising start at 7:00 with a re-broadcast of the Married…with Children pilot, scoring a 1.3 rating in a time period that is usually well below a 1 rating with a variety of animated repeats. One of the original Simpsons episodes aired at 7:30, building to a 1.5 rating. But the actual anniversary special never really got any momentum, averaging a 1.8 rating from 8-10 pm (acceptable for the weaker 8-9 hour but far below the potential for 9-10 pm). Except for a few entertaining clip packages (the montage of outrageous reality shows showing animals attacking and celebrities boxing was a stand-out), the tone of the special was rather somber and stiff. It was an odd choice for the self-styled “edgy” network to tap producer Don Mischer and director Louis J Horvitz to handle the show (think Academy Awards telecasts, Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Kennedy Center Honors specials). Perhaps a more out of the box and less traditional team would have had more fun with the material. Last year 7-10 pm on this night: Simpsons repeat (0.8), Simpsons repeat (1.0) and The Simpsons Movie (1.4).
FOX Sun High Low 3.18 3.25 4.01 4.08 4.15 4.22
Simpsons 5.4 2.0 2.4 1.9R 1.7R 1.5R 2.3
Bob’s Burg 2.1 1.7 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.4R 1.9
Napoleon 4.4 1.7
Family Guy 4.4 2.5 2.8 2.1R 2.5 1.8R 2.2R
Cleveland 2.2 2.1 2.1
Amer Dad 3.0 1.7 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.5R
NBC finished fourth on the night with its regular line-up. On this night last year: Dateline (0.8), America’s Next Great Restaurant (1.2) and Celebrity Apprentice (3.0).
NBC Sun High Low 3.18 3.25 4.01 4.08 4.15 4.22
Harry’s Law1.1 0.8 1.0 0.8 — 1.0 0.9 0.9*
Celeb App 2.6 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.0*
