NBC wins with 'Sunday Night Football'

By Nellie Andreeva

Football was the ratings king Sunday, handing NBC a nightly victory and helping Fox finish at No. 2.

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" broadcast of the game between the Carolina Panthers at the New York Giants scored a 12.9 household rating/21 share in the meter markets, up 30% vs. the same night last year.

Reliable time-adjusted total viewer and adults 18-49 numbers for the game won't be available until Tuesday, but NBC is expected to easily win Sunday night in both categories.

An NFL overrun boosted Fox's Sunday slate of animated comedy reruns to second place in adults 18-49 (3.0/8) and third in total viewers (7.6 million).

CBS, the only network to air an all-fresh nonsports lineup -- "60 Minutes," "Million Dollar Password," "Cold Case" and "The Unit"-- averaged 10.7 million viewers and a 2.0/5 in 18-49.

ABC (6.4 million, 1.9/5) was fourth.