LOS ANGELES (AP) — While political battles raged, viewers overwhelmingly cast their TV votes for football. Eight of the 10 most popular telecasts last week were NFL and college games or related programs, according to Nielsen ratings released Tuesday.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, celebrates his touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Gordon, right, during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass.
CBS was the No. 1 network among all viewers last week, powered by the Alabama-LSU game and the Crimson Tide's 29-0 victory over the Tigers. The prime-time match-up drew 11.5 million viewers. A pair of top 10 series, "The Big Bang Theory" and "NCIS," also helped boost CBS, which ranks as the most-watched network for the season so far and the leader for the last 10 consecutive seasons.
ABC's "World News Tonight" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.28 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.06 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.06 million. For the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "NFL Sunday Night Football: Green Bay at New England," NBC, 23.68 million; "NFL Sunday Post Game," Fox, 17.8 million; "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kickoff," NBC, 17.4 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 12.65 million; "NCIS," CBS, 12.3 million; "The OT," Fox, 12.1 million; "Football Night in America," NBC, 11.7 million; "Home Depot Prime College Football: Alabama at LSU," CBS, 11.5 million; "Fox Thursday Night Football: Oakland at San Francisco," Fox, 11.1 million; "NFL Regular Season: New England at Buffalo," ESPN, 11.07 million.