NO STOPPING NCIS: IT’S NO. 1 AGAIN

CBS’s NCIS returned to the top of the Nielsen ratings list last week. With 20 million viewers, it was the week’s most-watched program. Among viewers 18-49, however, it ranked only 10th. Sunday Night Football remained in the lead among the key demographic group. Boosted by an afternoon football overrun, CBS’s 60 Minutes was the second-most-watched program of the week with 17.9 million viewers. The CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory followed in third place with 18.2 million. (It did even better among the 18-49 set, landing in second place.) Concerns about the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, helped boost ratings for all three network evening newscasts. NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams was up 6 percent to 8.5 million viewers. ABC World News with Diane Sawyer also rose 6 percent to 7.7 million viewers, while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley shot up 8 percent to 6.6 million. For the week overall, CBS remained the leader in total households with a 6.8 rating and an 11 share. NBC came in second with a 5.4/9 (although it led in the 18-49 demo). ABC placed third with a 4.7/8, while Fox trailed with a 2.9/5.