In the first
Sunday without football for NBC this season, the network debuted the two-hour
premiere of new series The Firm to a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo,
according to Nielsen overnight numbers. That was down 46% from the network's
premiere of The Cape, which debuted the same week in 2011, and was NBC's
lowest in-season drama debut ever. Dateline drew a 1.5 from 8-9 p.m.. The network placed last with an overall 1.3
rating/3 share.
CBS cruised to the
victory, thanks partly to overrun of the NFL wildcard playoff game between the
Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos -- which was the net's highest rated
wildcard game in 24 years -- delaying the schedule by 18 minutes. In the
fast-affiliate ratings, 60 Minutes drew an inflated 7.9, while The Good
Wife was a 3.0 and CSI: Miami was a 2.7. (As always
with live events, ratings will be subjected to larger-than-normal adjustments.)
ABC came in with a
second-place 2.3/6. Its two freshman series had an up-and-down evening, as Once
Upon a Time returned up 28% from its last original to a 3.7, but Pan Am
was down 13% to a 1.3, for a new series low. Desperate Housewives was up
11% from five weeks ago to a 3.0.
Fox returned its
Sunday lineup for an overall 1.9/4. The Simpsons struggled against
football, dropping 23% to a 2.3. The rest of its lineup was down as well, with The Cleveland
Show dropping 9% to a 2.1, Family Guy falling 3% to a 3.0 and American
Dad returned down 16% to a 2.1.
