nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, august 28, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for NBC are approximate.]

NBC (7.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its mix of "NFL '12 Pigskin Pro-Am" (4.19 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), "NFL Preseason Pre-Game" (8.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) and "NFL Preseason: Saints/Raiders" (8.44 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T1).

ABC (5.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then snagged a distant second with its lineup of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (5.54 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7) and "20/20: The Sixth Sense" (5.98 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4).

Next up was CBS (5.94 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its combination of "60 Minutes" (7.90 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11), "Big Brother 13" (7.75 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T1), "The Good Wife" (3.71 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #16) and "CSI: Miami" (4.42 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13).

And finally, repeats of "American Dad" (1.77 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13), "Bob's Burgers" (1.83 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13), "The Simpsons" (2.73 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9), "The Cleveland Show" (2.58 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9) and "Family Guy" (3.22 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) led into a new "In The Flow with Affion Crockett" (2.06 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) on FOX (2.37 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Big Brother 13 (-12.1%), In The Flow with Affion Crockett (-16.7%).

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/29/10):

NBC (10.51 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) rose to the top spot on Sunday thanks to its coverage of the "The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" (11.63 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1). Leading off the night was the one-hour special "Red Carpet to the Primetime Emmys" (7.14 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

A year ago on CBS, the "The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" (13.32 million viewers; adults 18-49: 4.2 on 9/20/09) took home stronger numbers.

FOX (8.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) then took home a competitive silver with repeats of "American Dad" (4.10 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6) and "The Simpsons" (5.24 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) followed by coverage of the "NFL Preseason: Steelers at Broncos" (9.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2).

Next up was CBS (6.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with its mix of "60 Minutes" (8.61 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7), "Big Brother 12" (7.85 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3), "Undercover Boss" (5.39 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5) and "CSI: Miami" (4.68 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

And finally, repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.06 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) and the feature "Casino Royale" (3.79 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10) on ABC (4.10 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research