On a night where all networks other than ABC were strong, it was NBC’s Sunday Night Football that took the win.

NBC’s Sunday Night Football saw the Carolina Panthers in an unlikely victory over my Minnesota Vikings, which averaged a solid 5.6 (18-49) rating between 8.30 and 11pm to lead NBC to victory. A NFL overrun on FOX helped them to second place, averaging a 4.4 rating even though they were in repeats from 8-10pm.

The Survivor: Samoa finale posted solid numbers for CBS, averaging a 4.2 (18-49) rating between 8-11pm. At 7, 60 minutes posted a 2.4 rating and 13.1 million viewers.

ABC had a dismal night with America’s Funniest Home Videos (1.7), Movie: Santa Clause 3 (2.0) and Desperate Housewives (1.3)

Winners:
Sunday Night Football (NBC)
NFL Overrun (FOX)
Survivor: Samoa (CBS)
FOX animation reruns

Losers:
ABC reruns
60 Minutes (CBS)

Full Breakdown:  

7:00 – FOX – NFL overrun – 7.1 (18-49) rating - 19.6 million
CBS – 60 Minutes – 2.4 - 13.1 million
NBC – Football Night In America - 2.1 – 6.3 million
ABC – America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat) – 1.7 - 6.9 million

8:00 - NBC – Football Night In America - 4.2 (18-49) rating – 12.5 million viewers
CBS – Survivor: Samoa (finale) - 4.2 - 14 million
FOX - The Simpsons (repeat) – 3.8 - 8.2 million
ABC – Santa Clause 3 (movie) – 1.8 – 6.7 million

8:30 – NBC – Sunday Night Football (8.30 – 11pm) - 5.6 (18-49) rating – 15.8 million viewers
FOX The Cleveland Show (repeat) 2.8 7 5.917

9:00 – CBS – Survivor: Samoa (finale) - 4.5 (18-49) rating – 14.3 million viewers
FOX – Family Guy (repeat) - 3.1 - 6.3 million
ABC – Santa Clause 3 (movie) – 2.1 - 7.3 million

9:30 – FOX – American Dad (repeat) – 2.5 - 5.1 million

10:00 – CBS – Survivor: Samoa (special) - 3.9 (18-49) rating – 13.3 million viewers
ABC - Desperate Housewives (repeat) – 1.3 - 4 million

In a fierce match-up that saw the Philadelphia Eagles overcome the New York Giants, it was NBC who were the biggest winners.

Sunday Night Football averaged a solid 7.0 (18-49) rating average between 8.30 and 11pm to give NBC the win over a CBS which was heavily influenced by an NFL overrun and solid 60 Minutes.

FOX’s animation lineup were all new last night but only Family Guy shone with a 3.8 (18-49) rating, still down over the last few new episodes. Brothers underperformed at 7pm, averaging just a 1.1 (18-49) rating which effectively led FOX to last place.

America’s Funniest Home Videos was poor for ABC at 7, averaging just a 2.2 (18-49) rating. Desperate Housewives was replaced by a solid ep of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which averaged a 3.5 rating at 9pm. The Oprah White House Special which replaced Brothers & Sisters averaged a 2.9 rating, down from B&S’ season-to-date average.

Winners:
Sunday Night Football (NBC)
NFL Overrun (CBS)
Family Guy (FOX)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)

Losers:
Brothers (FOX)
Cold Case (CBS)
Oprah Special (ABC)
America’s Funnies Home Videos (ABC)

Full Breakdown:

7:00 – CBS – NFL overrun / 60 Minutes - 5.2 (18-49) rating – 18.5 million viewers
NBC – Football Night In America - 3.0 – 8.6 million
ABC – America’s Funniest Home Videos - 2.2 – 8.7 million
FOX – Brothers – 1.1 - 3.1 million

8:00 – NBC Football Night In America – 5.0 (18-49) rating - 14 million viewers
FOX – The Simpsons – 3.2 - 7.1 million
CBS – 60 Min./ The Mentalist (repeat) – 2.2 – 10.8 million
ABC Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2.7 – 9.3 million

8:30 NBC – Sunday Night Football (8.30-11pm) - 7.0 (18-49) rating – 19 million viewers
FOX – The Cleveland Show – 3.0 - 6.5 million

9:00 – FOX – Family Guy – 3.8 (18-49) rating – 7.7 million viewers
ABC – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – 3.5 - 11.2 million
CBS – Mentalist / Cold Case – 2.0 – 9.9 million

9:30 – FOX – American Dad – 3.1 (18-49) rating - 6.2 million viewers

10:00 – ABC – Oprah Primetime Special – 2.9 (18-49) rating – 11.8 million viewers
CBS – Cold Case / Criminal Minds (repeat) – 2.3 - 8.8 million

FOX’s Animation Domination rebounded from last week to come second to Sunday Night Football on NBC.

Between 7-11, NBC’s NFL coverage of the Steelers/Ravens game averaged a 5.4 rating and 14 million viewers to win the night.

At 7, an NFL overrun/ The OT helped FOX to victory with a 4.9 rating and 12.8 million viewers. The Simpsons rebounded from last weeks season low to post a 4.2 rating, The Cleveland Show posted a 3.5, Family Guy was up nearly 25% with a 4.4 rating and American Dad was up with a 3.3 rating.

CBS went with 60 Minutes at 7, which averaged a 2.6 rating and 14.3 million viewers, third for the hour. The Amazing Race was roughly level with last week with a 3.4 rating, good enough for third at 8. The eye aired A Dog Named Christmas between 9-11 and it outrated Cold Case and the now defunct Three Rivers with a 2.1 rating.

ABC was last a 7 with America’s Funniest Home Videos (2.1 rating, 8.3 million viewers, last at 8 with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (3.0 rating, 10.4 million viewers), Second at 9 with Desperate Housewives (4.4 rating, 12.7 million viewers) and second at 10 with Brothers and Sisters (3.0 rating, 8.8 million viewers).

Full Ratings Breakdown:

7:00 – FOX - NFL Football - 6.2 A18-49 rating – 16.7 million viewers
CBS – 60 Minutes – 2.3 - 12.8 million
NBC – Football Night In America - 2.2 – 6.5 million
ABC – America’s Funniest Home Videos - 1.8 – 7.5 million

7:30 - FOX – The OT – 3.6 A18-49 rating – 9 million viewers
NBC – Football Night In America – 3.1 – 8.2 million
CBS – 60 Minutes – 2.9 - 15.8 million
ABC – America’s Funniest Home Videos - 2.4 - 9.2 million

8:00 – NBC Football Night In America – 4.9 A18-49 rating - 13.7 million viewers
FOX – The Simpsons – 4.2 - 9 million
CBS – The Amazing Race – 3.4 - 12 million
ABC – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – 2.8 – 9.8 million

8:30 – NBC – Sunday Night Football: Pittsburg v. Baltimore – 6.9 A18-49 rating - 18.6 million viewers
FOX – The Cleveland Show – 3.5 - 7.2 million
CBS – The Amazing Race - 3.4 – 11.3 million
ABC – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – 3.2 – 10.9 million

9:00 - NBC – Sunday Night Football: Pittsburg v. Baltimore – 6.6 A18-49 rating – 17.1 million viewers
FOX – Family Guy – 4.4 - 8.5 million
ABC – Desperate Housewives – 4.3 – 12.7 million
CBS – A Dog Named Christmas (special) - 2.0 – 11.7 million

9:30 – NBC Sunday Night Football: Pittsburg v. Baltimore – 6.4 A18-49 rating - 16.1 million viewers
ABC – Desperate Housewives – 4.4 – 12.6 million
FOX – American Dad – 3.3 - 6.4 million
CBS – A Dog Named Christmas (special) - 2.0 - 12.2 million

10:00 – NBC Sunday Night Football: Pittsburg v. Baltimore - 6.7 A18-49 rating – 16.1 million viewers
ABC – Brothers & Sisters - 3.2 – 9.2 million
CBS – A Dog Named Christmas (special) - 2.2 - 12.6 million

10:30 – NBC Sunday Night Football: Pittsburg v. Baltimore – 6.6 A18-49 rating – 15.8 million viewers
ABC – Brothers & Sisters – 2.8 – 8.5 million
CBS – A Dog Named Christmas (special) - 2.2 - 12.6 million

Earlier today FOX announced its midseason schedule, here are some of the highlights…

January

Friday Jan. 1:

8:00 PM-CC ET        ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Tuesday, Jan. 5:

7:30 PM-CC ET        FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Friday Jan. 8:

9:00-10:00 PM          DOLLHOUSE (All-New Episodes)

Sunday Jan. 10:

8:00-8:30 PM            THE SIMPSONS (450^th Milestone Episode)

8:30-9:30 PM            THE SIMPSONS 20^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE!

Tuesday, Jan. 12:

8:00-10:00 PM          AMERICAN IDOL (Premiere, Part 1)

Wednesday, Jan. 13:

8:00-9:00 PM            AMERICAN IDOL (Premiere, Part 2)

9:00-10:00 PM          OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Series Premiere)

Monday, Jan. 18:

8:00-10:00 PM          24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 2)

Tuesday Jan. 19:

8:00-9:00 PM            AMERICAN IDOL (Time Period Premiere)

9:00-10:00 PM          OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Time Period Premiere)

Wednesday Jan. 20:

9:00-10:00 PM          HUMAN TARGET (Series Premiere)

Friday, Jan. 22:

9:00-10:00 PM          DOLLHOUSE (Series Finale)

Sunday, Jan. 24:

6:00 PM-CC ET        NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Monday Jan. 25:

9:00-10:00 PM          24 (Time Period Premiere) 

Fridays Jan. 29:

9:00-10:00 PM          KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season Premiere)

February

Thursday Feb. 4:

9:00-10:00 PM          FRINGE (Winter Finale)

Thursday Feb. 11:

8:00-10:00 PM          PAST LIFE (Two-Hour Series Premiere)

Thursday Feb. 18:

9:00-10:00 PM          PAST LIFE (Time Period Premiere)

March

Sunday, March 14:

8:30-9:00 PM             SONS OF TUCSON (Series Premiere)

April

Thursday April 1:

9:00-10:00 PM          FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

TuesdayApril 13:

9:00-10:00 PM          GLEE (Time Period Premiere)

Sunday night saw the Eagles/Bears game go head to head with the American Music Awards with one winner – NBC.

Overall the contest was close, with NBC slightly edging out ABC between 7pm-8pm which made all the difference when calculating the averages.

An NFL overrun helped CBS win the 7pm slot and also threw off the numbers in for CBS a little. Then it was the Eagles/ Bears game and the AMA’s trading blows until 11 pm.

The AMA’s beat Sunday Night Football between the hours of 8-11 with a controversial Adam Lambert performance that has received 1,500 complaints thus far. They also posted their best A18-49 numbers in 5 years! Sunday Night Football still averaged a 5.5 rating though, a solid evening for NBC.

Fox’s Animation Domination linuep wasn’t performing that well though, posting just a 2.7 A18-49 average for the night, almost a season low. CBS’ experiment, where they swapped Cold Case and Three Rivers around didn’t work, they still averaged roughly the same as last week.  

Full hourly Breakdown:

7:00 – CBS – NFL Overrun/60 Minutes - 4.7 A18-49 rating – 18.5 million viewers

NBC – Football Night In America – 2.8 – 7.4 million

ABC – NASCAR (Ford 400)/ America’s Funniest Home Videos - 1.8 - 6.1 million

FOX – Brothers/ The Simpsons (R) - 1.5 - 3.3 million

8:00 – NBC – Football Night In America - 5.1 A18-49 rating - 14.1 million viewers

ABC – 2009 American Music Awards – 4.6 – 12.8 million

CBS – 60 Minutes/ The Amazing Race - 3.5 – 14.3 million

FOX – The Simpsons/ The Cleveland Show - 3.3  – 6.8 million

9:00 – ABC – 2009 American Music Awards - 6.2 A18-49 rating - 15.5 million viewers

NBC – Sunday Night Football: Philadelphia v. Chicago – 5.7 - 15.5 million

FOX – Family Guy/ American Dad - 3.3 - 6.4 million

CBS – The Amazing Race/ Cold Case - 2.7 - 10.3 million

10:00 – ABC – 2009 American Music Awards - 5.7 A18-49 rating - 14.1 million viewers

NBC – Sunday Night Football: Philadelphia v. Chicago – 5.6 - 14.3 million

CBS – Cold Case/ Three Rivers - 2.0 - 8.5 million

Last night saw the Colts beat the Patriots with a last gasp attack and it was NBC which reaped the benefits.

At 7pm, a football overrun helped FOX win the hour with The OT from 7.30-8. Football Night in America was second for NBC, pulling in a 2.7  rating and 7.3 million viewers.

As usual, Sunday Night Football won the night for NBC, averaging a 7.5 rating and just under 19 million viewers. In other news, Three Rivers and Cold Case were up a couple of ticks vs. last week, The Simpsons got a nice post- NFL bump and Brothers and Sisters were up 9% from last weeks series low (2.9 vs. 3.2).

7pm -
FOX – Football Overrun/ The OT - 6.6 rating (A18-49) – 17.5 million viewers. 
NBC – Football Night in America – 2.7 rating (A18-49) – 7.3 million viewers
CBS – 60 Minutes – 2.2 rating (A18-49) – 12.2 million viewers
ABC – America’s Funniest Home Videos - 2.2 rating – 8.5 million viewers

8pm -
NBC – Football Night in America/ SNF – 6.7 rating (A18-49) – 16.25 million
FOX – Simpsons/ Cleveland Show – 3.8 rating (A18-49) – 8 million viewers
ABC – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – 3.6 rating (A18-49) – 11.58 million
CBS – The Amazing Race – 3.2 rating (A18-49) – 11.64 million viewers.

9pm -
NBC – Sunday Night Football – 7.7 rating (A18-49) -  20.9 million viewers.
ABC – Desperate Housewives – 4.9 rating (A18-49) – 14.4 million viewers. 
FOX - Family Guy/ American Dad – 3.5 rating (A18-49) – 7.1 million viewers
CBS – Three Rivers – 2.0 rating (A18-49) – 8.5 million viewers

10pm -
NBC – Sunday Night Football – 7.0 rating (A18-49) – 17.5 million viewers.
ABC – Brothers and Sisters – 3.2 rating (A18-49) – 10.2 million viewers.
CBS – Cold Case - 2.1 rating (A18-49) – 9.2 million viewers.

So there’s a plane bearing towards Wisteria Lane and now we know who the pilot who crashes it is.

The Simpsons star Dan Castellaneta, (the voice of Homer Simpson), will be taking on the role of the pilot that crashes a small plane in Fairview during the midseason finale of Desperate Housewives on December 6.

Castellaneta has recently guest starred on Greek as Rusty and Dale’s professor in the ABC Family show.

Sunday saw NBC win a night with Sunday Night Football coverage of the Chicago Bears @ Atlanta Falcons. Due to an NFL 75 minute overrun CBS was also strong.

A football overrun on CBS helped them win the 7pm time period, brining in a 6.5 A18-49 rating and 20.8 million viewers. NBC also had NFL coverage with Football Night in America pulling a 2.2 rating and 6 million viewers. Over on ABC, An hour of America’s Funniest Home Video’s brought in a 2.0 A18-49 rating and 7.8 million viewers. Fox went with their usual lineup of reruns of Brothers (1.7) and The Simpsons (2.1).

At 8, A 15 minute overrun and 60 minutes pulled a 4.3 rating and 16.3 million viewers. Football Night in America and The first half hour of the Bears/Falcons game brought in around 12.75 million viewers and a 4.8 rating for NBC. On Fox, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode and a new ‘Cleveland Show’ saw 8.1 million viewers and a 4.0 A18-49 rating. On ABC, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition pulled a 3.0 rating and 10.3 million viewers.

Sunday Night Football kept its lead for NBC at 9, with a 6.1 A18-49 rating and 16 million viewers. Desperate Housewives was up vs. last week bringing in a 4.6 rating and 13.5 million viewers. On Fox, a Family Guy repeat and new American Dad brought in a 3.7 rating and 7.2 million viewers. The 60 minutes overrun and The Amazing Race brought in 10.7 million viewers and a 2.9 A18-49 rating.

At 10, the NFL coverage continued to be rampant pulling a 6.3 rating and 15.4 million viewers. Brothers and Sisters was up vs last week with 9.7 million viewers and a 3.2 A18-49 rating. The Amazing Race overrun and Three Rivers pulled a 2.0 rating, although Three Rivers was down to a 1.7 in the second half hour, which means that the 15 minute Amazing Race overrun probably contributed heavily to the 2.4 Three Rivers pulled from 10-10.30

Which is where it’s going to stay (at least until the series ends its run in 2012).

For those who actually enjoyed the movie (unlike me), here’s an update:

Speaking to Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Matt Groening and showrunner Al Jean that making the series and producing the movie was so exhausting that a sequel remains a distant prospect.

“It took 18 years to get around to doing the movie,” Groening said. “We got very frustrated. We thought it would take two years but it ended up taking four. Some day maybe we’ll do another one — but don’t hold your breath.”