NBC'S "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" RANKS #1 FOR THE PRIMETIME WEEK OF SEPT. 16-22 ON ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX IN 18-49, 18-34, 25-54, KIDS AND TEENS

NBC Finishes the 52-Week Broadcast Year #2 in 18-49, 18-34 and 25-54, the First Time Since '02-03 NBC Has Topped Fox or ABC in 18-49 for the 52-Week Year With No Boost From the Olympics or Super Bowl

NBC Wins Tuesday, Sept. 17, in Total Viewers as 'America's Got Talent' Grows for a Fourth Straight Week and Delivers the Show's Biggest Tuesday Viewership in Three Months

Wednesday's 'Talent' Finale Tops the Show's Year-Ago Conclusion and Grows Versus the Prior Week by 14%

Thursday's 'Million Second Quiz' Finale Beats the Show's Prior Five Telecasts in 18-49 Rating, Grows 18% vs. Both the Prior Night and Prior Thursday

NBC's Bears-Steelers 'Sunday Night Football' Tops All Sunday Primetime Programming in 18-49 and Total Viewers, Including a Sixth 'SNF' Win Over the Emmys in Their Six Head-to-Head Meetings to Date

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - September 24, 2013 - NBC's "Sunday Night Football" has scored #1 rankings for the week of Sept. 16-22 among all primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49, as well as adults 18-34, adults 25-54, all key adult-male demos, kids 2-11 and teens 12-17, according to "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research, which are preliminary and subject to adjustment by Nielsen.

For the week, NBC ranked #2 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49, tied for #1 among those networks in adults 18-34 and ranked #1 outright among the Big 4 in men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. For the week, NBC averaged a 2.1 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.5 million viewers overall.

The week concluded Nielsen's 52-week broadcast year during which NBC finished #2 in adult 18-49 rating, topping Fox and ABC for the first time with no boost from the Olympics or Super Bowl in 10 years, according to preliminary 52-week results that are subject to change with the release of official Nielsen primetime averages for the week and season on Wednesday.

Primetime averages for the week of September 16-22 in adults 18-49 are: CBS, 2.2 rating; NBC, 2.1 rating; Fox, 1.6 rating; ABC, 1.3 rating; and CW, 0.3 rating. In overall total viewers, the weekly averages were: CBS, 8.9 million; NBC, 7.5 million; ABC, 5.4 million; Fox, 4.4 million; and CW, 1.0 million. Note that these average are preliminary and subject to adjustment by Nielsen

52-WEEK BROADCAST YEAR: NBC has completed the 2012-13 52-week Broadcast Year #2 in adult 18-49 rating, marking the first time NBC has beaten Fox or ABC in 18-49 without a boost from the Super Bowl or Olympics since 2002-03.

NBC finished the year within 0.2 of a point of #1 CBS, which was boosted by February's Super Bowl, according to preliminary "most current" averages from Nielsen Media Research for the completed 52-week year.

For the broadcast year that ran from September 24, 2012 to September 22, 2013, NBC also ranks #2 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adult 18-34 rating and adult 25-54 rating.

In the key adult 18-49 demographic, NBC won 21 weeks over the course of the broadcast year among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in 18-49 rating (including four ties), the most among those networks, with CBS at 17 wins (including four ties), Fox at 14 (three ties) and ABC at seven wins (one tie).

NBC's schedule for the year was led by the #1 primetime series overall in adults 18-49, "Sunday Night Football." "The Voice" ranked as the year's #1 entertainment series and is the #2 series overall behind only "Sunday Night Football" (excluding sports pre- and post-game shows). This marks the first time in 10 years, since the 2002-03 year, that Fox's "American Idol" has not finished as the #1 entertainment series.

Averages for the completed 2012-13 Broadcast Year to date are: CBS, a 2.4 rating; NBC, 2.2; Fox, 2.1; ABC, 2.0; and CW, 0.6. In overall total viewers, the season averages are: CBS, 9.9 million; ABC, 7.0 million; NBC, 6.7 million; Fox, 6.0 million; and CW, 1.5 million. Note that these averages are preliminary and subject to adjustment by Nielsen.

NBC highlights for the week of September 16-22:

Monday: "The Million Second Quiz" (1.1 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49, 3.7 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) topped its prior two telecasts in 18-49 rating, growing versus the show's previous edition on Saturday by 67% (to a 1.0 from a 0.6), despite Monday competition from the season premieres of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" and Fox's "Bones," as well as ESPN's Steelers-Bengals NFL telecast.

"American Ninja Warrior" (1.6/4 in adults 18-49, 4.2 million viewers overall from 9-10:01 p.m. ET) grew half-hour to half-hour in every key ratings category, including gains of 14% in adults 18-49 (to a 1.6 rating from a 1.4), 15% in adults 18-34 (1.5 vs. 1.3), 20% in women 18-34 (1.8 vs. 1.5) and 30% in men 18-34 (1.3 vs. 1.0).

Tuesday: NBC ranked #1 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox for the night in total viewers, with the #1 show of the night in that category, "America's Got Talent" (2.4/7 in 18-49, 11.2 million viewers overall), which generated its biggest Tuesday overall audience in three months (since June 18, 11.8 million) and matched its highest Tuesday 18-49 rating in six weeks (since Aug. 6, 2.5). "Talent" was up week to week in total viewers for a fourth consecutive Tuesday, with an increase versus the prior week of 21% (11.193 million vs. 9.237 million). In 18-49 rating, "Talent" was up 4% week to week (2.4 vs. 2.3).

"The Million Second Quiz" (1.1/4 in adults 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall) delivered a second straight night of growth to top its prior five telecasts in total viewers and match the highest 18-49 rating among the show's prior four editions.

Wednesday: NBC ranked #1 for the night in total viewers with the #1 show of the night by that measure, the season finale of "America's Got Talent" (2.5/7 in 18-49, 11.5 million viewers overall from 9-11 p.m. ET), which hit a total-viewer season high for a "Talent."

"America's Got Talent" topped the show's year-ago finale by 4% in 18-49 rating (with a 2.5 vs. a 2.4) and by 9% in total viewers (11.5 million vs. 10.6 million). "America's Got Talent" was also up week to week by 14% in both 18-49 rating (to a 2.5 from a 2.2) and total viewers (11.5 million vs. 10.1 million). In 18-49, it was the top Wednesday "Talent" in six weeks (since August 7, 2.5) and matched the highest Wednesday rating since July 17 (2.9).

From 8-9 p.m. ET, "The Million Second Quiz" (1.1/4 in 18-49, 4.9 million viewers overall) matched the show's highest 18-49 rating among its previous five telecasts, dating back to the prior Thursday.

Thursday: The season finale of "The Million Second Quiz" (1.3/4 in adults 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) topped the show's prior five telecasts in 18-49 rating and matched its best score since Tuesday, Sept. 10. Versus both the prior night and the prior Thursday, "Million Second Quiz" was up 18% in 18-49 in both comparisons (1.3 vs. 1.1 for both nights). It was NBC's best 18-49 and total-viewer performance in the slot, excluding sports, since the July 4 "Macy's" special and excluding that, since the night of the "Office" finale.

Thursday's "Million Second Quiz" built significantly through its time period, increasing by 50% from its fist half-hour to its fourth in 18-49 (to a 1.5 from a 1.0). The last nine editions of "MSQ" in a row built from their first half-hours to their last in 18-49 rating.

The NBC News Special "Valerie's Story: A Meredith Vieira Special" (0.8/2 in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall at 10 p.m. ET) earned NBC's top total-viewer result in the slot, excluding sports, since Aug. 1.

Friday: "Dateline NBC" (1.1/4 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall from 9-11 p.m. ET) ranked #2 in its time period among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers.

Sunday: "Sunday Night Football" (7.7/20 in 18-49, 20.5 million viewers overall from 8:31-11:28 p.m. ET), featuring the Chicago Bears at the Pittsburgh Steelers, out-rated that night's Emmy Awards on CBS and led NBC to the nightlong win. Versus the 8:04-11:12 p.m. Emmy telecast, Bears-Steelers football prevailed by 57% in 18-49 rating (7.7 vs. 4.9) and 16% or more than 2.7 million persons in total viewers (20.5 million vs. 17.8 million). "Sunday Night Football" cleared 20 million viewers for a fourth consecutive telecast (including the Sept. 5 "Kickoff" Thursday game) and is the only primetime show since the NBA Finals in June to top 20 million.

* Preliminary and subject to change with the release of official Nielsen primetime averages for the week and season on Wednesday.