Ratings: NFL Shuts Out Competition, ‘Once’ Hits Low

Andrew Luck may have beaten Peyton Manning in his old city, but NBC was the real winner

The Broncos/Colts Sunday night football game was one for the ages, and one for great ratings.

NBC was first in ratings with a 7.8 rating/20 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and first in total viewers with an average of 21.5 million, according to preliminary numbers. Though due to the nature of live sports, numbers for Fox, CBS and NBC are approximate.

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Part 1 of “Football Night in America” at 7 earned a 2.6/8 and 8.4 million viewers. Part 2 at 7:30 received a 4.8/14 and 13.8 million viewers. At 8, Part 3 earned a 7.2/19 and 20 million viewers. At 8:30, the game itself received a 9.5/23 and 25.9 million viewers — making it easily the highest-rated and most-watched telecast of the night.

CBS was second in ratings with a 2.7/7 and second in total viewers with 12.3 million. The network’s NFL overrun at 7 earned a 7.4/23 and 24.4 million viewers. At 7:30, “60 Minutes” earned a 3.2/9 and 14.9 million viewers. At 8:30, “The Amazing Race” received a 1.9/5 and 9 million viewers. “The Good Wife” at 9:30 got a 1.4/3 and 9 million viewers. “The Mentalist” at 10:30 had a 1.3/3 and 7.9 million viewers.

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Following an all-time ratings low last week, “The Mentalist” did not fare any better Sunday, according to the early numbers. However, due to football, the CBS lineup was delayed between 30 and 42 minutes — depending on market — so the numbers may change.

ABC was third in ratings with a 1.4/4 and in total viewers with 5.6 million. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 earned a 1.1/3 — tying its series low — and had 5.7 million viewers. “Once Upon a Time” at 8 received a 2.0/5 — also matching a series low — and 7 million viewers. At 9, “Revenge” got a 1.5/4 and 6.1 million viewers. “Betrayal” at 10 earned a 0.9/2 and 3.6 million viewers.

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Fox was in fourth in ratings with a 1.1/3 and fifth in total viewers with 2.7 million. At 7, an NFL overrun bumped into a repeat, earning a 0.9/3 and 2.6 million viewers. The rest of the night was reruns.

Univision was in fifth in ratings with a 1.0/3 and fourth in viewers with 2.9 million.

Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.6/2 and in total viewers 1.3 million.

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