Ratings: 'Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special' Scores 15 Million Viewers

The “Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special” drew enough laughs to post an impressive Sunday night audience — but it would have needed more for CBS to outshine NBC on the evening.

A strong NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks carried NBC the top of the Nielsen ratings, though the Burnett reunion did boast a shining score in total viewers for an entertainment special.

NBC finished first in ratings with a 4.6 rating/16 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 14.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. Following the network’s three-part “Football in America” program at 7, the Eagles vs. Seahawks game grabbed a 13.1/22 share from 8:30-11:30 p.m.

Fox was second in ratings with a 2.0/7 and third in viewers with 5.8 million. At 7, the conclusion of the New York Giants vs. Oakland Raiders game took home a 4.5/16 and 14.9 million viewers. At 7:30, “The OT” had a 2.7/10 and 8.3 million viewers. At 8, “The Simpsons” received a 1.7/6 and 4.3 million viewers. At 8:30, “Ghosted” managed a 1.0/3 and 2.6 million viewers. At 9, “Family Guy” got a 1.1/4 and 2.6 million viewers. At 9:30, “The Last Man of Earth” settled for a 0.8/2 and 1.9 million viewers.

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CBS was third in ratings with a 1.2/4 and second in viewers with 12 million. At 7, “60 Minutes” landed a 1.2/4 and 11.3 million viewers. From 8-10, “The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special” scored a 1.5/5 and 15.2 million viewers. A repeat followed.

ABC was fourth in ratings with a 0.9/3 and in viewers with 4 million. Following a repeat, a new episode of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 8 took a 1.0/3 and 4.5 million viewers. At 9, “Shark Tank” managed a 0.9/3 and 3.7 million viewers. The episode was followed by a repeat.

Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.4/1 and in viewers with 1.2 million.

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Telemundo was sixth in ratings with 0.3/1 and in viewers with 852,000.

The CW does not nationally program Sunday nights.

13 TV Shows With the Worst Audience Declines From Last Year (Photos)

We've already learned that just six entertainment (so, no sports or news programming) TV shows across the Big 4 broadcast channels were able to grow their audiences from Fall 2016 to this season -- but which ones are actually falling the hardest? TheWrap's got that answer for you today, and we've ranked them in order from bad-to-awful.

Unfortunately for Fox, the newest of the networks (again, we're leaving The CW alone here) owns each of the three worst year over year total-viewer drop-offs. All numbers in this story comes from Nielsen's "most current" metric, which includes a week's worth of delayed viewing where available.

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TheWrap
Rank: 13
Show: "NCIS: Los Angeles"
Net: CBS
Total-Viewer Average: 10.216 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -20%

"NCIS: LA" moved from Sundays at 8 after "60 Minutes" to Sundays at 9 after the recently scraped "Wisdom of the Crowd." You do the math -- or rather, don't bother, as we just did for you.

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CBS
Rank: 11 (tie)
Show: "The Blacklist"
Net: NBC
Total-Viewer Average: 8.322 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -21%

"The Blacklist" moved from Thursdays at 10 to Wednesdays at 8. It's now up against Fox's "Empire" and in the dead spot previously occupied by "Blindspot."

Also Read: Can ‘CBS This Morning’ Survive Without Disgraced Co-Anchor Charlie Rose?
NBC
Rank: 11 (tie)
Show: "Kevin Can Wait"
Net: CBS
Total-Viewer Average: 7.946 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -21%

Kevin misses "The Big Bang Theory," which served as this sitcom's lead-in for six weeks last year. Not anymore.

Also Read: From ‘This Is Us’ to ‘Mom': The 6 TV Shows With More Viewers Than Last Year (Photos)
CBS
Rank: 10
Show: "Madam Secretary"
Net: CBS
Total-Viewer Average: 8.564 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -22%

"Madam Secretary" was sent to Sundays at 10 this season -- though with NFL football overruns, it rarely even finishes within the confines of East Coast primetime.

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CBS
Rank: 9
Show: "Scorpion"
Net: CBS
Total-Viewer Average: 7.599 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -25%

"Scorpion" is mostly getting beaten-up by ABC's freshman drama"The Good Doctor." Bring back the good-old days when this batch of geniuses battled "Conviction." Plus, no one wants "Me, Myself & I" as a lead-in -- or in CBS' case, really, at all.

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CBS
Rank: 8
Show: "Black-ish"
Net: ABC
Total-Viewer Average: 5.641 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -26%

Leaving "Modern Series" and entering the "This Is Us" time slot is not exactly a recipe for TV ratings success. Unfortunately, no one told ABC that.

Also Read: 10 Lowest-Rated TV Shows of Summer 2017 (Photos)
ABC
Rank: 7
Show: "Once Upon a Time"
Net: ABC
Total-Viewer Average: 3.550 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -28%

Once upon a time this fairy-tale series had a cast viewers loved and a Sunday night time slot. Now, the Friday show has neither.

Also Read: 20 Highest-Rated Shows That Got Canceled Last Season (Photos)
ABC
Rank: 6
Show: "Speechless"
Net: ABC
Total-Viewer Average: 5.422 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -31%

"Empire" moving from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays shook up a lot of the standings: "Speechless" was not immune.

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ABC
Rank: 4 (tie)
Show: "Blindspot"
Net: NBC
Total-Viewer Average: 5.217 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -33%

Worse than Wednesday at 8 o'clock on NBC? Friday at any time on any channel.

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NBC
Rank: 4 (tie)
Show: "Designated Survivor"
Net: ABC
Total-Viewer Average: 8.742 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -33%

New lead-in "American Housewife": you are no "Black-ish."

Also Read: 11 Top-Rated TV Shows of Summer 2017 (Photos)
ABC
Rank: 3
Show: "Empire"
Net: Fox
Total-Viewer Average: 8.099 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -36%

Sometimes 8 o'clock isn't better than 9 o'clock. Now a self-starter, "Empire" is sure helping companion series "Star," but who's helping "Empire"?

Also Read: 20 Lowest-Rated TV Shows of 2016-17 Season (Photos)
Fox
Rank: 1 (tie)
Show: "The Exorcist"
Net: Fox
Total-Viewer Average: 1.944 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -37%

We'd call it a sophomore slump, but the devil didn't exactly earn his due in Season 1 either. Time to exorcise this show, Fox.

Also Read: 25 Top-Rated TV Shows of 2016-17 Season (Photos)
Fox
Rank: 1 (tie)
Show: "Lethal Weapon"
Net: Fox
Total-Viewer Average: 5.902 million
Year-Over-Year Decline: -37%

As a freshman, "Lethal Weapon" benefitted in its final 15 minutes as viewers flocked to Fox early for "Empire." Now the action-drama is on its own for Season 2, and Murtaugh and Riggs are maybe already getting too old for this s---.

Also Read: ‘9JKL’ Evicts 43 Percent of Key Demo Audience Without ‘Big Bang Theory’ Lead-In
Fox
Don't gloat too much, "Man With a Plan" and "Chicago Med" -- you were only saved from this list by virtue of a lack of delayed-viewing data.

We'll see how bad those declines truly are (or are not) in a week or so.

Also Read: Cancellation Watch: 9 TV Shows That Likely Won’t Last Beyond This Season (Photos)
CBS/NBC

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Fox actually claims all three of the biggest drops from Fall 2016

We've already learned that just six entertainment (so, no sports or news programming) TV shows across the Big 4 broadcast channels were able to grow their audiences from Fall 2016 to this season -- but which ones are actually falling the hardest? TheWrap's got that answer for you today, and we've ranked them in order from bad-to-awful.

Unfortunately for Fox, the newest of the networks (again, we're leaving The CW alone here) owns each of the three worst year over year total-viewer drop-offs. All numbers in this story comes from Nielsen's "most current" metric, which includes a week's worth of delayed viewing where available.

Also Read: How Matt Lauer’s Firing Could Impact ‘Today’ Show in the Ratings

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13 TV Shows With the Worst Audience Declines From Last Year (Photos)

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