nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, september 15, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 17 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 CBS, FOX and NBC are approximate.]

NBC (15.949 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.3, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its mix of "Football Night in America #1" (8.880 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5), "Football Night in America #2" (11.450 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.1, #4), "Football Night in America #3" (16.038 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.2, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (18.244 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.4, #1).

CBS (10.277 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then got a boost at second place with a full hour of "NFL Overrun" (20.629 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.4, #2) followed by "60 Minutes" (10.939 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6), "Big Brother 15" (5.850 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11) and a repeat of "The Good Wife" (3.689 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #17).

Next up was FOX (4.501 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) and its repeat lineup (which included NFL overrun in some markets) of "American Dad" (5.283 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8), "The Simpsons" (5.112 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8), another "The Simpsons" (5.929 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7), "Bob's Burgers" (4.061 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12), "Family Guy" (3.248 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.4, #14) and another "Family Guy" (3.373 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13).

And finally, ABC (6.580 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) served up a repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.300 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T15) alongside its specials "20/20: Pageant Confidential: The Road to Miss America" (4.156 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T15) and "Miss America 2014" (8.431 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+42.86% - Football Night in America #1
+32.26% - Football Night in America #2
-5.26% - Big Brother 15
-11.43% - Football Night in America #3
-18.68% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+192.31% - Miss America 2014 (vs. Revenge (Repeat)/Revenge (Repeat))
+50.00% - 20/20: Pageant Confidential: The Road to Miss America (vs. Revenge (Repeat))
0.00% - Football Night in America #1
-1.33% - Sunday Night Football
-4.62% - Football Night in America #3
-14.58% - Football Night in America #2
-21.74% - Big Brother 15

Here are the highlights of the 19 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/16/12):

[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

Source: Nielsen Media Research