SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL THROWN FOR A LOSS

NBC’s Sunday Night Football still ruled, but its total audience for the contest between the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints drew 13.7 million viewers, a huge number by normal standards, but when judged against most other SNF results recently, a huge disappointment. It was down 18 percent from the year-ago contest between the Pittsburg Steelers and the Baltimore Colts. Meanwhile, a football overrun into primetime on Fox helped boost ratings for its animated lineup. The network averaged 12.6 million for the night. College football gave Fox a win for Saturday, with the Wisconsin/Michigan State game drawing 7.08 million viewers. NBC aired its annual rerun of It’s a Wonderful Life. Some 4.46 million viewers tuned in. (The radio version of the movie, starring the original cast, can be streamed online here.)