Ratings News - 1st October 2012 *Full Tables Added*

SUNDAY 9/30/12 METERED MARKETS
NBC Leads; Respectable Viewing Levels Elsewhere

Household
Rating/Share
NBC 11.5/18
Fox 8.0/12
CBS 7.6/12
ABC 5.8/ 9

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Opening Season Sunday (on 9/25/11):
Fox: +23, NBC: +16, CBS: - 4, ABC: - 6

----------

-Winners:
Sunday Night Football (NBC), 60 Minutes (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
Once Upon a Time (ABC), The Amazing Race (CBS), Revenge (ABC), The Good Wife (CBS)

-Disappointing Opening:
666 Park Avenue (ABC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Nothing

----------

-Rating Results:
Football-ignited NBC led this first Sunday in October, with the NY Giants at the Philadelphia Eagles at an estimated 15.4 rating/24 share in the overnights in primetime (from 8:30-11 p.m.). The 11 p.m. half-hour scored a 15.9/28. And this, no doubt, will be the most-watched show of the week. Results for any live sporting event, of course, are approximate.

Earlier in the evening on NBC was pre-game Football Night in America at a 1.9/ 3 in the 7 p.m. half-hour (#4), a 3.2/ 5 at 7:30 p.m. (#4) and a first-place 10.6/16 at 8 p.m.

In series-premiere news, ABC drama 666 Park Avenue launched with a third-place 5.3/ 9 in the overnights at 10 p.m. Comparably, that trailed the series debut of short-lived former time period occupant Pan Am (8.5/14 on 9/25/11) by 38 percent. And there was a loss of 14 percent in the second half-hour (5.7/ 9 to 4.9/ 8). But retention for 666 Park Avenue out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of relocated Revenge (#3: 6.5/10) was acceptable at 82 percent.

Revenge for the hour opened its second season at a respectable 6.7/10 from 9-10 p.m., which was just six percent below year-ago occupant Desperate Housewives (7.1/10 on 9/25/11) with retention of 93 percent out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of Once Upon a Time (#2: 7.2/11). One year earlier, Revenge debuted in the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour with a similar 7.0/12 on 9/21/11 (and that translated into 10.02 million viewers and a 3.3/ 9 among adults 18-49, based on the Live Plus Same Day results).

Earlier in the evening on ABC was a clips edition of Once Upon a Time (“The Magic is Coming”: #3: 4.3/ 7 at 7 p.m.), followed by the season two debut of the fantasy drama at a comfortable second-place 7.2/11 from 8-9 p.m. Comparably, this was 13 percent below its year-ago series-opener (8.4/13 on 10/23/11).

Program results for CBS, which finished second overall in the metered markets behind NBC, are estimated due to an approximate 15-minute late start for the evening. Granddaddy 60 Minutes opened season 44 with a second-place 9.2/15 at 7 p.m., which was right on par from its year-ago season-opener. Next was the 20th edition of Emmy winning The Amazing Race (#3: 6.7/11 at 8 p.m.), which was also close to one year earlier, followed by the third season-premiere of older-skewing The Good Wife (#2: 7.4/11 at 9 p.m.) and the fifth season-debut of relocated The Mentalist (#2: 7.0.12). Compared to its year-ago opener in the Thursday 10 p.m. hour (8.6/15 on 9/22/11), The Mentalist slipped by 19 percent.

Fox opened with Football in the 7 p.m. half-hour at a very dominant 15.3/26 in the overnights, followed by post-game The OT at a 15.6/26 (which could include more of the game). The network’s animated block (which is estimated due to football) opened for the season as follows:

Fox/Sunday
8:00 p.m. – The Simpsons: 5.7/ 9 (#4)
Up 7 percent from the year-ago season premiere (5.3/ 8 on 9/25/11)

8:30 p.m. – Bob’s Burgers: 3.7/ 5 (#4)
Down 3 percent from the year-ago season premiere of The Cleveland Show (3.8/ 6 on 9/25/11)

9:00 p.m. – Family Guy: 4.5/ 7 (#4)
Down 4 percent from the year-ago season premiere (4.7/ 7 on 9/25/11)

9:30 p.m. – American Dad: 3.6/ 5 (#4)
Equal to one year earlier.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights