nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, september 9, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 18 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 FOX, CBS and NBC are approximate. On FOX, The Simpsons began at 8:12p with entertainment prime sliding.]

NBC (20.11 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.8, #1) was the network to beat with the official return of "Sunday Night Football" (24.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.8, #1). Kicking off the night were the pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (7.82 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.6, #6), "Football Night in America #2" (9.68 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.5, #4) and "Football Night in America #3" (19.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.8, #2).

FOX (9.62 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2) then claimed the silver with a full hour of "NFL Overrun" (18.39 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 7.5, #3) followed by repeats of "The Simpsons" (7.31 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5), another "The Simpsons" (4.76 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7), "Family Guy" (4.51 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11) and another "Family Guy" (4.37 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7).

Next up was CBS (7.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with its half-hour of "Tennis Overrun" (9.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #12) followed by "60 Minutes" (11.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7), "Big Brother 14" (6.97 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7) and repeats of "The Good Wife" (3.93 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T15) and "The Mentalist" (3.71 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T17).

And finally, ABC (2.80 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) rounded out the night with its marathon mix of "Once Upon a Time" (2.50 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T17), another "Once Upon a Time" (3.01 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T15), yet another "Once Upon a Time" (2.81 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) and even more "Once Upon a Time" (2.87 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - 60 Minutes (vs. 8/26/12)
+23.53% - Big Brother 14

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):

+61.54% - 60 Minutes (vs. 60 Minutes (Repeat))
+3.16% - Sunday Night Football
-41.67% - Big Brother 14 (vs. 9/11: 10 Years Later)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/11/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for FOX are approximate from 7-8p and for NBC from 7-11p.]

NBC (19.21 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.8, #1) dominated the competition on Sunday with the formal return of "Sunday Night Football" (23.05 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.5, #1). Leading off the night were its pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (7.46 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7), "Football Night in America #2" (11.35 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.6, #4) and "Football Night in America #3" (19.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.8, #2).

FOX (7.38 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) then took home the silver with its mix of "NFL Overrun" (17.86 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 7.2, #3), "The OT" (10.40 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 4.4, #5), "The Simpsons" (5.21 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.4, #8), "Family Guy" (4.07 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) and the departing "In The Flow with Affion Crockett" (2.67 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T11).

Next up was CBS (9.35 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) and its combination of "60 Minutes" (7.98 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T11), "9/11: 10 Years Later" (12.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.6, #6) and "The Good Wife" (4.97 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T15).

And finally, repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.14 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T13), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.35 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T13) and "20/20: The Sixth Sense" (4.42 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T15) led into the special "Primetime: Remembrance and Renewal - 10 Years After the 9/11 Attacks" (5.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10) on ABC (4.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): In The Flow with Affion Crockett (18.2%).

Source: Nielsen Media Research