Procedural dramas jump to front in TV's opening week
NEW YORK (AP) - Besides live sports, the one thing broadcast networks can be counted on for these days is franchise procedural dramas.
That was evident on opening week of a new television season, when the 10 most-watched scripted programs all fit this tried-and-true formula, according to the Nielsen company.
There were three programs each in CBS' 'œFBI'ť series and NBC's 'œChicago'ť shows, and two each of CBS' 'œNCIS'ť shows and NBC's 'œLaw & Order'ť franchise.
No comedies appeared in Nielsen's top 20 programs.
Buoyed by 'œSunday Night Football,'ť NBC won the week in prime time with an average of 6 million viewers. ABC had 4.5 million, Fox had 4 million, CBS had 3.9 million, Univision had 1.2 million, Ion Television had 960,000 and Telemundo had 850,000.
Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network, averaging 2.12 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 2.02 million, MSNBC had 1.21 million, HGTV had 811,000 and Hallmark had 688,000.
ABC's 'œWorld News Tonight'ť won the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.6 million viewers. NBC's 'œNightly News'ť had 6.5 million and the 'œCBS Evening News'ť had 4.6 million.
For the week of Sept. 19-25, the 20 most-watched programs in prime time, their networks and viewerships:
1. NFL Football: San Francisco at Denver, NBC, 17.8 million.
2. NFL Football: Minnesota at Philadelphia, ABC, 12.86 million.
3. 'œNFL Pregame,'ť NBC, 12.85 million.
4. 'œThe OT,'ť Fox, 12.13 million.
5. 'œFootball Night in America,'ť NBC, 9.11 million.
6. 'œ60 Minutes," CBS, 7.14 million.
7. 'œFBI,'ť CBS, 6.81 million.
8. 'œChicago Fire,'ť NBC, 6.75 million.
9. 'œChicago Med,'ť NBC, 6.59 million.
10. NFL Football: Tennessee at Buffalo, ESPN, 6.57 million.
11. 'œThe Voice'ť (Tuesday), NBC, 6.19 million.
12. 'œNFL Pregame,'ť ABC, 6.16 million.
13. 'œThe Voice'ť (Monday), NBC, 6.12 million.
14. 'œNCIS,'ť CBS, 5.82 million.
15. 'œChicago PD,'ť NBC, 5.48 million.
16. 'œLaw & Order: SVU,'ť NBC, 5.47 million.
17. 'œFBI: International,'ť CBS, 5.44 million.
18. 'œNCIS: Hawai'i," CBS, 5.31 million.
19. 'œFBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 5.27 million.
20. 'œSurvivor,'ť CBS, 5.05 million.