(click on chart for full-sized image)
America is, apparently, ready for some football. NBC's primetime NFL puts up numbers untouchable by the mostly rerun competition. Ranked by viewers, CBS takes 10 of the top 20, NBC takes 6, FOX 3 and ABC just 1.
Will Sunday Night Football (SNF) hold up against the competition when the new TV season kicks off? Last year SNF couldn't couldn't outduel Desperate Housewives even with a showcase game featuring Peyton Manning & Tom Brady. But it's good to be #1, if only for a week or two...
Full Broadcast ratings:
| RANK | PROGRAMS | ORIG | # OF PERSONS 2+ (LIVE+SD) (million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday Night Football | NBC | 18.16 |
| 2 | NFL Thursday Special | NBC | 17.79 |
| 3 | NBC NFL Thursday Pre-Kick | NBC | 13.58 |
| 4 | Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick | NBC | 12.38 |
| 5 | 60 Minutes | CBS | 10.84 |
| 6 | The OT | FOX | 10.1 |
| 7 | Without a Trace | CBS | 9.5 |
| 8 | CSI | CBS | 9.49 |
| 9 | Football Night America | NBC | 9.18 |
| 10 | Two and a Half Men | CBS | 9.11 |
| 11 | NFL Opening Kick-Off Show | NBC | 8.81 |
| 12 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 8.76 |
| 13 | Extreme Makeover Home Ed. | ABC | 8.37 |
| 14 | Smarter than a 5th Grader | FOX | 8.29 |
| 15 | Big Brother - Sun | CBS | 8.28 |
| 16 | Power of 10 - Tue | CBS | 8.09 |
| 17 | Don't Forget the Lyrics | FOX | 8.05 |
| 18 | CSI: NY | CBS | 8.03 |
| 19 | Criminal Minds | CBS | 8.02 |
| 20 | Big Brother - Tue | CBS | 8 |
