While there are only two certainties in life — death and taxes — there’s a pretty good bet that a key TV death can almost guarantee a Nielsen ratings boost. ABC’s “Revenge” took advantage of that well-known industry fact on Sunday, delivering double-digit gains across both the key demo and in total viewers.
Of course, drama and death still can’t complete with football, as the usual suspects took care of primetime last night. Though as always, due to the nature of live sports, numbers for NBC and Fox are approximate.
NBC was first in ratings with a 5.5 rating/15 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and first in viewers with an average of 16.5 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 7 p.m., Part 1 of “Football Night in America” had a 1.9/6 and 6.5 million viewers. Part 2 at 7:30 got a 2.8/8 and 9 million viewers. Part 3 at 8 earned a 5.0/14 and 15.4 million viewers.
Fox was second in ratings with a 3.3/9 and third in viewers with 8.4 million. An NFL overrun at 7 received a 5.9/18 and 17.9 million viewers. At 7:30, the overrun into the postgame “OT” show got a 4.9/14 and 14 million viewers. “The Simpsons” at 8 earned a 2.8/8 — up 87 percent with the big lead-in — and 6.4 million viewers. At 8:30, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” rose 50 percent to a 2.1/6 and increased to 4.3 million viewers. “Family Guy” at 9:00 had a 2.2/6 and 4.3 million viewers. “Bob’s Burgers” at 9:30 brought in a 1.6/4 — up 60 percent from last week — and 3.2 million viewers.
CBS and ABC tied for third in ratings, both with a 1.4/4. CBS was second in viewers with 9.4 million, ABC was fourth with 5.1 million.
For CBS, “60 Minutes” at 7 had a 1.7/5 and 11.8 million viewers. The “I Love Lucy Christmas” special at 8 received a 1.4/4 and 9.4 million viewers. “The Mentalist” at 8:30 dipped 31 percent from last week’s premiere to a 1.1/3, with 8.6 million viewers. “CSI” at 10 got a 1.2/3 and 7.9 million viewers.
For ABC, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 had a 1.3/4 and 6 million viewers. “Once Upon a Time” at 8 earned a 2.0/5 and 6.1 million viewers. “Resurrection” at 9 received a 1.0/3 and 3.9 million viewers. “Revenge” at 10 ticked up 20 percent to a 1.2/3 and 4.6 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 1.0/3 and in total viewers with 2.6 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.4/1 and in total viewers with 985,000.