Primetime Ratings: 'American Music Awards' Down 8% on ABC

Sunday Night Football paced NBC to a decisive ratings victory. NBC did a 4.9 rating in 18-49, per Nielsen overnights, and a booming 14 share. Fox had a 3.0/9, thanks in large part to an NFL overrun, ABC a 2.9/8 and CBS a 1.1/3 for a rare last place finish.

Sunday Night Football was off 9% from last week’s ratings.

After the boffo football lead in, which it did not have last week, Fox’s The Simpsons scored a 3.4, up a whopping 127% from its last original episode. Then it was Brooklyn Nine-Nine at 2.3, up 77%. Family Guy posted a 2.0, up 43%, and The Last Man on Earth grew 8% to 1.3.

On ABC, America’s Funniest Home Videos posted a 1.1, up 22%, before The 2015 American Music Awards scored a 3.5 rating, with an average of 11 million viewers; the rating was down 8% from last year’s event.

CBS ratings were hurt without the NFL lead-in prime enjoyed last week. 60 Minutes showed a 1.5, down an unsightly 53%, then Madam Secretary was off 15% at 1.1. The Good Wife weighed in at 0.9, off 18%, and CSI: Cyber showed a flat 0.9.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.