Sunday’s primetime was all about sports, as Fox’s World Series Game 5 and NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” dominated any competition brash enough to counter-program with original entertainment shows. We’re looking at you, CBS and ABC.
America’s pastime bested “Football Night in America,” as the Houston Astros won another instant-classic Fall Classic game. Due to the nature of live TV, the below Nielsen numbers for Fox and NBC (and to a lesser extent, CBS) are subject to significant adjustment.
Behind Fox and NBC, CBS and ABC quietly settled into third and fourth place, respectively. Read on for details.
Fox was first in ratings with a 5.8 rating/19 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 20.5 million, according to preliminary numbers. Following the end of “America’s Game of the Week” — the NFL one, at least — the network aired its “OT” post-game show. Game 5 of the World Series — an extra-innings affair — ran throughout the rest of primetime.
NBC was second in ratings with a 3.5/11 and in viewers with 10.4 million. The Pittsburgh Steelers versus Detroit Lions game followed NBC Sports’ studio show.
CBS was third in ratings with a 0.9/3 and in viewers with 8.1 million. After an NFL overrun, CBS programmed “60 Minutes,” “Wisdom of the Crowd” (pictured above), “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Madam Secretary.” Each series was essentially a non-factor last night.
ABC was fourth in ratings with a 0.8/3 and in viewers with 3.1 million. The Disney-owned broadcaster aired “The Toy Box,” a rerun of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and two hours of “Shark Tank.”
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.5/2 and in viewers with 1.4 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 879,000.