“Family Guy,” “Simpsons” Ratings Boosted By NFL

Another Sunday meant another ratings victory for live NFL action Sunday; the sport’s ratings prowess was evidenced by strong performance from two networks this week.

For starters, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” led the pack with a strong 6.6/16 adults 18-49 rating. The game, a tight contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, drew an average of 15.8 million viewers in primetime (a figure that will likely go up when the overtime data is calculated).

But the ratings impact of the NFL was not limited to the live game on NBC; the overrun stemming from football action on FOX helped the network’s “Animation Domination” lineup bounce back from last week’s lull. “The Simpsons” jumped all the way up to a 4.2/10 rating with 9 million viewers, while “Family Guy” surged to a 4.4/10 rating and 8.5 million viewers. “The Cleveland Show,” sandwiched between the two series, moved up to a 3.5/8 rating with 7.2 million viewers, while “American Dad” close FOX’s night with 6.4 million and a 3.3/8.

Other solid performers for the night included ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” (12.7 million, 4.3/10) and CBS’ “The Amazing Race” (11.7 million, 3.4/8).