Adele’s two-hour “One Night Only” special drew 9.9 million total viewers on Sunday, when CBS finished second to NBC’s primetime NFL action. “60 Minutes” scored 12.5 million viewers last night.
Those are time zone-adjusted fast-national ratings, but they do not include out-of-home viewing. The below numbers for the other broadcast networks are not time zone-adjusted (and definitely do not include out-of-home viewing), which will especially impact NBC. Consider those “Sunday Night Football” numbers subject to significant adjustment.
Due to late-afternoon football, “60 Minutes” started at 7:33 p.m. The Adele special kicked off at 8:33 p.m. It ended up being the most-watched CBS special since Oprah Winfrey interviewed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. “Adele One Night Only” was the most-watched special on any network since April’s Oscars.
NBC was first in ratings with a 3.1 in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 11.7 million, according to preliminary numbers. Those are the initial averages of lengthy pregame show “Football Night in America” and the primetime pigskin itself.
The Kansas City Chiefs destroyed the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night, 41-14.
ABC was third in ratings with a 0.6 and in total viewers with 3.1 million. The network aired “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (a 0.4 rating and 4.5 million total viewers), “Celebrity Family Feud” (0.5 and 3.4 million total viewers), “Supermarket Sweep” (0.4 and 2 million total viewers) and “The Rookie” (0.3 and 2.5 million total viewers).
Fox was fourth in ratings with a 0.5 and in total viewers with 1.6 million. After a pair of reruns, Fox aired “The Simpsons” (a 0.5 and 1.6 million total viewers), “The Great North” (0.3 and 983,000 total viewers), “Bob’s Burgers” (0.4 and 1.1 million total viewers) and “Family Guy” (also a 0.4 and 1.1 million total viewers) episodes.
The CW was fifth in ratings with a 0.1 and in total viewers with 362,000. “Legends of the Hidden Temple” at 8 had a 0.1 rating and 264,000 total viewers. Repeats followed.
We do not have early Nielsen numbers for Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.