“Dateline NBC” cashed in on the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial last night, scoring its best rating in three years and sending the returns for “Last Man on Earth” and “Quantico” packing when the news magazine show aired an interview with lead prosecutor Marcia Clark.
Fox did manage to notch a first-place tie in the key 18-49 demographic on Sunday, as its early comedy lineup did well-enough versus NBC’s “The Voice” rerun. That said, a NASCAR race ran into Fox primetime, so expect numbers for “Bordertown” to shrink in the finals.
For the most part, Sunday was a sleepy evening, which may have been somewhat disrupted by cable’s Democratic debate. On fellow broadcast channel PBS, “Downton Abbey” aired its series finale.
NBC and Fox tied for first in ratings, both with a 1.2 rating/4 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. NBC was second in total viewers with an average of 5.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. Fox was fourth in viewers with 3.1 million viewers.
For NBC, following the repeat, “Dateline NBC” at 9 p.m. earned a 1.4/4 and 5.9 million viewers.
For Fox, the 7 o’clock “Bordertown” had a 1.5/6 and 5.6 million viewers. At 7:30, “Bob’s Burgers” got a 1.1/4 and 2.6 million viewers. At 8, “The Simpsons” posted a 1.3/4 and 3.2 million viewers. At 8:30, “Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life” received a 0.8/2 and 1.9 million viewers. “Family Guy” at 9 put up a 1.3/4 and 2.7 million viewers. At 9:30, “The Last Man on Earth” returned to a 1.1/3 and 2.7 million viewers.
CBS and ABC tied for third in ratings with a 1.0/3. CBS was first in total viewers with 8.6 million, ABC was third in viewers with 3.4 million viewers.
For CBS, “60 Minutes” at 7 had a 1.3/5 and 11.3 million viewers. “Madam Secretary” at 8 got a 1.2/4 and 10.1 million viewers. “The Good Wife” at 9 received a 0.9/2 and 7.2 million viewers. “CSI: Cyber” at 10 posted a 0.8/3 and 5.7 million viewers.
For ABC, following a rerun, “Once Upon a Time” at 8 had a 1.3/4 and 4 million viewers. At 9, “The Family” got a 0.8/2 and 3.1 million viewers. At 10, “Quantico” received a 1.1/4 and 3.7 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.7/2 and in viewers with 2 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 711,000.