Football kicks CBS to first in Sunday ratings

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS convincingly won Sunday night's primetime races in both viewership and the coveted adults 18-49 demographic.

The network got a big hand during the first 25 minutes of primetime, thanks to the New England Patriots' 34-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to remain 13-0. The game averaged 24 million viewers and an 8.1 rating/22 share in adults 18-49 between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. EST, according to preliminary estimates released Monday by Nielsen Media Research.

CBS won between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with "60 Minutes" (15.9 million, 4.3/11). ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" (9.1 million, 2.6/7) came in second between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., while "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (12.8 million, 4.4/10) was down over last week. CBS' "The Amazing Race" (11.9 million, 3.8/9) was third in its time period.

Ratings for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" (11.2 million, 4.4/10) are approximate.

ABC's two-hour "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day" averaged 12.5 million viewers and a 3.2/8.

For the night, CBS (13.9 million, 4.1/10) led over ABC (11.7 million, 3.3/8); NBC (9.9 million, 3.8/9); Fox (6.2 million, 2.9/7); and the CW (1.3 million, 0.5/1).

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter