By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The new television season hasn’t begun yet, but the football season has, and it’s carrying the networks in the interim.
Four NFL games finished among the Nielsen company’s top 12 shows last week, led by the Sunday night matchup of Philadelphia against Atlanta.
ABC devoted its entire primetime lineup to the third Democratic presidential debate last Thursday, reaching a healthy audience of just under 13 million viewers, Nielsen said.
Between football and “America’s Got Talent,” NBC won the network ratings race. The network averaged 5.7 million viewers in prime time. ABC was second with 4.5 million, CBS had 3.9 million, Fox had 3.1 million, ION Television had 1.3 million, Univision had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million and the CW had 570,000.
Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.42 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 1.89 million, MSNBC had 1.71 million, Hallmark had 1.38 million and HGTV had 1.32 million. HGTV’s heavily-promoted home renovation show with actors from “The Brady Bunch” reached 3.37 million for its premiere.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 7.9 million viewers. The “NBC Nightly News” had 7.6 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Sept. 9-15. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Philadelphia at Atlanta, NBC, 17.64 million.
2. “NFL Post-Game,” Fox, 15.02 million.
3. NFL Football: Houston at New Orleans, ESPN, 13.53 million.
4. “Democratic Presidential Debate,” ABC, 12.95 million.
5. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 12.91 million.
6. “The OT,” Fox, 11.09 million.
7. NFL Football: Denver at Oakland, ESPN, 10.95 million.
8. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 9.48 million.
9. “Football Night in America, Part 3,” NBC, 9.4 million.
10. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 8.46 million.
11. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.48 million.
12. NFL Football: Tampa Bay at Carolina, NFL Network, 6.67 million.
13. “NCIS,” CBS, 5.69 million.
14. “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 4.79 million.
15. “FBI,” CBS, 4.77 million.
16. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 4.64 million.
17. “Football Night in America, Part 2,” NBC, 4.6 million.
18. “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 4.59 million.
19. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 4.58 million.
20. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 4.55 million.
ABC and ESPN are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by Fox Corp.; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More