Big NFL ratings keep NBC and Fox close in Sunday night ratings race

This Sunday night’s ratings race became a little more interesting than usual, thanks to Fox’s own NFL coverage running well beyond 7 p.m. NBC’s coverage of Saints-Lions still managed to win the night overall, but just barely beat out Fox in both ratings and overall audience numbers.

NBC took the top spot with Sunday Night Football coverage and pregame averaging 13.72 million viewers and a 5.2 18-49 rating. However, the game itself was actually down three percent from last week’s, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The game itself averaged a 6.5 18-49 rating and 16.9 million viewers, with its best hour coming at its 8:30 start, when 18.5 million tuned in.

Fox came in with a very close second with a 5.1 18-49 rating and 12.6 million viewers, but that was not because people suddenly decided to watch The Simpsons. At 7 p.m., NFL coverage continued, giving Fox a whopping 24.55 million viewers and a 9.0 18-49 rating in the hour, reports Hit Fix. The Simpsons drew 9 million viewers, but by the time Allen Gregory started, most of the NFL audience left. The new show had just 5.4 million viewers, while Family Guy had 7.05 million. The Cleveland Show drew just 4.4 million.

CBS, which benefited from almost an hour of football overrun last week, came in third with 10.43 million viewers, but fourth in the ratings with a 2.1 18-49 rating. 60 Minutes drew 11.9 million viewers, while The Amazing Race drew 9.64 million, according to Zap 2 It. The Good Wife had 9.8 million, while CSI: Miami saw a surprising boost to 10.4 million viewers.

Finally, ABC landed in fourth place, despite a full slate of new episodes. The network pulled in just 7.08 million viewers and a 2.2 18-49 rating overall. America’s Funniest Home Videos had just under 6 million viewers, but Once Upon a Time hit a series low 9.61 million viewers with a 3.1 18-49 rating. Desperate Housewives managed just 8.1 million viewers, while Pan Am also slipped to just 4.67 million.