nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, september 16, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 19 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 (from 7-8p), CBS and NBC are approximate. On CBS, the NFL Overrun ran until approximately 7:37p with entertainment prime sliding.]

NBC (15.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.5, #1) was once again the night's top draw with its coverage of "Sunday Night Football" (18.06 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.5, #1). Kicking off the evening were its pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (7.76 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.0, #6), "Football Night in America #2" (11.72 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.8, #4) and "Football Night in America #3" (15.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.5, #2).

A distant second place then went to CBS (8.99 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) with its mix of "NFL Overrun" (18.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.3, #3), "60 Minutes" (12.77 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5), "Big Brother 14" (7.64 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8), "The Good Wife" (4.26 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T14) and "The Mentalist" (3.86 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T16).

Next up was FOX (4.52 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) and its lineup of "NFL Overrun/American Dad" (6.24 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7), "The Cleveland Show" (3.74 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13), "The Simpsons" (4.28 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T11), another "The Simpsons" (4.10 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T11), "Family Guy" (4.41 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T9) and another "Family Guy" (4.35 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.85 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T14), "Revenge" (3.10 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T18), another "Revenge" (3.06 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T18) and yet another "Revenge" (3.04 million viewers, #19; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T16) on ABC (3.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+52.38% - 60 Minutes
+9.52% - Big Brother 14
-23.47% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+109.09% - Big Brother 14 (vs. The Good Wife (Repeat))
+23.08% - 60 Minutes (vs. 60 Minutes (Repeat))
-18.48% - Sunday Night Football

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/18/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following are Time Zone Adjusted Fast Nationals for FOX from 8-11:01p. Due to the nature of live programming, Fast Nationals for CBS and NBC are approximate. FOX's Emmy Pre-Show is inflated due to an NFL overrun in 30% of the country from 7-7:34p.]

NBC (17.80 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.4, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its coverage of "Sunday Night Football" (21.52 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.2, #1). Leading off the night were its pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (6.47 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8), "Football Night in America #2" (11.39 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.5, #4) and "Football Night in America #3" (16.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.8, #2).

Second place then went to FOX (11.59 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) with its broadcast of "The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" (12.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.2, #5). Said audience was up from last year's "The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" (11.63 million viewers; adults 18-49: 3.6; 8/29/10 on NBC) while a one-hour "Countdown to the Emmys" (9.05 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6) special lead off the night.

Next up was CBS (8.74 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with its mix of "NFL Overrun" (18.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.5, #3), "60 Minutes" (11.35 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.6, #7), "The Good Wife" (5.59 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12), another "The Good Wife" (5.90 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13) and "CSI: Miami" (5.40 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14).

And finally, repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.40 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.75 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10) and "20/20: The Sixth Sense" (5.13 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9) on ABC (5.10 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Sunday Night Football (-3.2%).

Source: Nielsen Media Research