The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards had slightly higher ratings than last year's ceremony, but "Sunday Night Football" took the evening's top ratings, according to preliminary numbers.
In the all-important adults 18-49 demographic, the Emmys, airing on Fox from 8 to 11 p.m., received a 2 percent bump over last year, with a 4.2 rating and 12.4 million total viewers. (The show's share in the demo is not yet available.)
Though slight, the gain over last year's Emmys is more impressive than first meets the eye, given that last year's ceremony wasn't competing with "Sunday Night Football." The ceremony was down 8 percent in total viewership versus last year, which drew 13.5 million total viewers, but again the competition from football is a factor.
The Emmys pre-show on Fox at 7 drew a 3.2/9 in the demo and 9 million total viewers.
NBC, however, took the ratings crown with the "Sunday Night Football" showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons. The 8:30 p.m. game, down 3 percent from last Sunday's preliminary ratings, still drew a 9.2 rating/22 share in the demo and 21.5 million total viewers. The game was preceded by three half-hour blocks of "Football Night in America" from 7 to 8:30, which drew a 2.2/6, 4.5/13 and 6.8/18 in the demo, respectively.
NBC's football coverage gave the network an overall win for the night, with an average 7.4/19 in the demo and 17.7 million total viewers.
Elsewhere, ABC enjoyed a big boost on Sunday night, with "ABC News: The Sixth Sense" at 10, which jumped 40 percent over last week with a 1.4/3 in the demo and 5.1 million total viewers. The rest of the network's primetime roster consisted of repeats.
With the exception of NFL overrun from 7 to 7:30, which grabbed a 6.5/19 in the demo and 18.8 million total viewers, CBS ran repeats throughout the evening.
