(Updated with final numbers at 5:40 p.m. ET: Game 5 of the World Series received 17.2 million total viewers. “Sunday Night Football” scored 23 million.)
Previously:
Sunday night is still football night in America — even when the World Series concludes in extra innings.
In the early and admittedly unreliable fast national Nielsen numbers, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” and Fox’s Game 5 coverage predictably drowned out its broadcast competition.
Through primetime specifically, the NFL’s battle of undefeated teams appears to have finished above the Fall Classic ender — but both live sports events are going to adjust up in final numbers.
Fox had a nice boost from its own NFL game, which ran into early primetime a few hours beyond its afternoon kickoff.
Game 5 of the World Series — which ended in 12 innings — ran well beyond the key Nielsen day part. Read more about the entirety of this year’s World Series ratings’ here.
Down the ladder, CBS and ABC tied for a distant third in the key 18-49 demographic. In total viewers, however, CBS basically doubled the Disney broadcaster’s audience.
NBC was first in ratings with a 6.5 rating/17 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 18.3 million, according to those particularly preliminary numbers. The Denver Broncos defeat of the Green Bay Packers on “Sunday Night Football” rose from last week, as did the pregame show.
Fox was second in ratings with a 5.5/15 and in viewers with 18.1 million. The World Series concluded beyond primetime’s reach.
CBS and ABC sat behind Fox, both with a 1.1/3. CBS was third in total viewers with 8.4 million; ABC was fourth with 4.2 million.
For CBS, an NFL overrun rumbled into primetime. “Madam Secretary” and “The Good Wife” were both down double digits versus the stiff Sunday competition. Finally, “CSI: Cyber” was flat week over week.
ABC’s entire lineup — “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Blood & Oil” and “Quantico” — all slipped last night.
Sunday’s ratings experienced a Monday delivery delay due to Daylight Savings Time.