Thanks to run-over from the Seattle Seahawks-Washington
Redskins NFL playoff game (which took up the entire 7 p.m. hour), Fox easily
won Sunday with an overall 5.6 rating/14 share with adults 18-49, according to
Nielsen overnight numbers. That also helped Fox's comedies return from their
holiday hiatus to huge increases. The Simpsons was up 29% from its last
uninterrupted original on Dec. 9 to a 4.4 (Dec. 16 was pre-empted by President
Obama's Sandy Hook shootings press conference), while Bob's Burgers
improved 48% to a 3.1. Family Guy and American Dad each rose
40% to a 3.5 and 2.8, respectively, from their last episodes on Dec. 23.
NBC, in its first Sunday without NFL football, came in
second with a 2.2/6. The season premiere of The Biggest Loser was up 21%
from last year (which aired on a Tuesday) to a 2.9. Earlier, the Sunday
premiere of Dateline was up 25% from a year ago to a 1.5.
ABC nipped CBS for third (though CBS had more total
viewers), with a 1.8/5. Once Upon a Time returned even with its last
episode at 3.1, while Revenge was down 4% to a 2.3. Happy Endings
and Don't Trust the B---- did not benefit from their new temporary
timeslot, as the low-rated comedies drew just a 1.0 and 0.9, respectively.
CBS finished with a 1.7/4. The Good Wife returned even
at 1.8 while The Mentalist came back up 31% to a 2.1.
