Giants-Cowboys game proves big draw for NBC, gives ‘Sunday Night Football’ best rating in weeks

The divisional match-up between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys was a huge win. Not just for the Giants, but for NBC as well. The game gave Sunday Night Football its best rating in weeks. Meanwhile, news is getting worse for ABC as Once Upon A Time continues to slide.

NBC was easily in first place, drawing 18.4 million viewers overall and a huge 6.9 18-49 rating, according to Hit Fix. Football Night In America started the night off with 9.85 million viewers. As for the game itself, it averaged 22.7 million viewers and an 8.5 18-49 rating, notes The Hollywood Reporter.

Both CBS and Fox were helped by NFL over-run in most of the country, although CBS won second place with 13.22 million viewers and a 3.2 18-49 rating. According to Zap2It, NFL over-run and 60 Minutes drew 17 million viewers in the 7 p.m. slot. At 8 p.m., the Amazing Race finale started, drawing 13.7 million, which was followed by The Good Wife, which had 11.1 million. CSI: Miami finished the night with 11.05 million.

Fox’s NFL over-run was not as big as CBS’s, so the network wound up in third with just 5.99 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating. At 7 p.m., a The Simpsons repeat in some markets and a The Cleveland Show repeat averaged 6.74 million viewers. The rest of the animation block was hit hard, as a new episode of The Simpsons started the night with just 6.4 million viewers and a 3.0 18-49 rating. The Cleveland Show had just under 5 million, while Family Guy had 6.05 million. American Dad also had just under 5 million viewers.

Finally, ABC came in fourth, with 5.92 million viewers and a 1.8 18-19 rating.America’s Funniest Home Videos started the night well for the network with 7.4 million viewers. Once Upon A Time slipped for the second straight week, drawing 8.9 million viewers and a 2.9 18-49 rating. That rating was a series low. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory followed, averaging a 1.3 18-49 rating. In both hours, the film only attracted 3.7 million viewers.