The CW’s “The Waltons’ Homecoming” movie reboot debuted to 957,000 viewers Sunday, according to the earliest available Nielsen data. The audience pulled in by The CW’s first-ever made-for-TV film gave the network its most-watched night of the 2021-2022 season, and its largest total-viewer tally since April 14.
Elsewhere, NBC topped TV ratings among adults 18-49 for the evening with the Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens “Sunday Night Football” game. Meanwhile, CBS’ Tony Bennett-Lady Gaga special scored more than 6 million viewers, making it primetime’s most-watched entertainment broadcast.
Due to the nature of live sports, the below early Nielsen numbers for NBC and Fox should be considered subject to significant adjustment.
NBC was first in ratings with a 3.0 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 11.2 million, according to preliminary data. Those numbers were put up by the Ravens’ win over the Browns, plus the “SNF” pre-show.
Fox was second in ratings with a 1.7 and in total viewers with 6.6 million. An NFL overrun and post-show “The OT” at 7 p.m. earned a 3.8 and 15.6 million viewers. At 8, “The Simpsons” garnered a 1.2 and 3.7 million viewers. “The Great North” at 8:30 received a 0.6 and 1.8 million viewers. “Bob’s Burgers” at 9 had a 0.5 and 1.5 million viewers. “Family Guy” at 9:30 also got a 0.5, but fell to 1.4 million viewers.
CBS and ABC tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.4. CBS was third in total viewers with 5.5 million, ABC was fourth with 2.4 million.
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For CBS, “60 Minutes” at 7 took a 0.5 and 7.2 million viewers. At 8, “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” earned a 0.4 and 6.1 million viewers. “The Equalizer” aired at 9, having given its usual time slot to the Bennett-Gaga special, and received a 0.4 and 5.6 million viewers. At 10, the CBS news special “Forever Young: Searching for the Fountain of Youth” settled for a 0.2 and 2.9 million viewers.
For ABC, “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” special drew a 0.4 and 2.5 million viewers from 7-9. “The Great Christmas Light Fight” season premiere at 9 closed the night with a 0.4 and 2.3 million viewers.
The CW, which does not program nationally during Sunday’s 7 o’clock hour, was fifth in ratings with a 0.1 and in total viewers with 957,000. Those numbers were delivered by The CW’s “The Waltons’ Homecoming,” which aired from 8-10.
We do not have early Nielsen numbers for Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.