Ratings: ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ Season Premiere Outperforms ‘NCIS: New Orleans’

The “NCIS: Los Angeles” season premiere proved dominant over the one for “NCIS: New Orleans,” according to early Nielsen data. But CBS’ west coast-set “NCIS” spinoff, airing at 8, also received a nice lead-in from an NFL-boosted “60 Minutes.” NBC had Tom Brady vs. Drew Brees, but the former was totally blown out by the latter. Due to the nature of live sports, the below numbers for NBC and CBS should be considered subject to significant adjustment.

NBC was first in ratings with a 3.3 rating/18 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 11.5 million, according to preliminary numbers. Those were the averages of the network’s three-part pregame series “Football Night in America” and the New Orleans Saints’ massive defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

CBS was second in ratings with a 1.8/10 and in viewers with 10.2 million. At 7 p.m., the end of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game scored a 5.2/27 and 22.9 million viewers. From 7:30-8:30, “60 Minutes” put up a 2.8/15 and 15.8 million viewers. The Season 12 premiere of “NCIS: Los Angeles” at 8:30 earned a 0.9/4 and 7 million viewers. At 9:30, “NCIS: New Orleans” Season 7 debuted to a 0.6/3 and 4.8 million viewers. A rerun followed.

ABC was third in ratings with a 0.6/3 and in viewers with 3.7 million. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 received a 0.7/4 and 5 million viewers. At 8, “Supermarket Sweep” had a 0.7/4 and 3.3 million viewers. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” at 9 managed a 0.4/2 and 3 million viewers. At 10, the “20/20” Alex Trebek tribute special closed the night with a 0.4/2 and 3.5 million viewers.

Fox was fourth in ratings with a 0.5/3 and in viewers with 1.3 million. Following back-to-back repeats, “The Simpsons” at 8 got a 0.6/3 and 1.7 million viewers. “Bless the Harts” at 8:30 settled for a 0.4/2 and 1.2 million viewers. At 9, “Bob’s Burgers” took a 0.6/3 and 1.3 million viewers. “Family Guy” ended the block with a 0.6/3 and 1.4 million viewers.

Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, each with a 0.3. Univision had a 2 share and 1.1 million viewers, Telemundo had a 1 share and 853,000 viewers. The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/0 and in viewers with 419,000. At 8, “Pandora” managed a 0.0/0 and 294,000 viewers. Repeats followed.