SUPER BOWL BOOSTS FOX TO FIRST PLACE — AT LEAST FOR THE WEEK

There’s nothing like the Super Bowl game to lift a last-place TV network to first. And for the week of Jan 27 – Feb. 2, Fox TV’s numbers looked as impressive as the Seattle Seahawks’. First there was Super Bowl XLVIII itself with 112.19 million viewers, the highest-rated television program in U.S. TV history, then the pre- and post-game shows, and New Girl, which followed it all and, with 26.30 million viewers, was the highest-rated comedy show since the series finale of NBC’s Friends ten years ago. Fox also landed one other show in the top ten — the Wednesday edition of American Idol. All of the other shows in the top ten belonged to CBS. Indeed, NBC was only able to place one show in the top 20, The Blacklist at No. 15 with 10.1 million viewers (at No. 15 on the list). ABC also placed one show in the top 20: The Bachelor at No. 15. All of the evening newscasts saw an increase in their ratings. Once again, NBC Nightly News with Scott Pelley landed in first place with 10.47 million viewers; ABC World News with Diane Sawyer was a solid contender with 9.40 million; and The CBS Evening News improved to 8.6 million. For the week, Fox led with an average 13.5 rating and a 21 share. CBS was second with a 4.9/8. NBC was third with a 3.0/5. And ABC trailed with a 2.9/5.