The very-long-awaited returns of two writers’ strike victims — the Golden Globes and 24 — scored on Sunday night, but it was the NFL playoffs that wound up winning the evening’s ratings game. The Chargers-Steelers matchup drew 29.7 million viewers in its primetime final hour on CBS, easily the best numbers of the night. 24 came back to Fox after sitting last season out, and it nabbed 12.6 million watchers — down from the 15.7 million who tuned in to the show’s previous season premiere nearly two years ago. NBC’s broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards also returned to humbler numbers: 14.6 million viewers, down 27 percent from 2007’s 20 million. (We’re pretending that that press conferency thing last year didn’t even happen.) Fox dominated (an otherwise snoozy) Saturday night, with its Cardinals-Panthers playoff game drawing 21.5 million viewers. And a pigskin-less Friday gave CBS free reign, as usual, with Ghost Whisperer (10.6 million) and Numb3rs (10.1 million).
addCredit(“Kelsey McNeal/Fox”)
| Time | Show | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) Football: Chargers vs. Steelers (CBS) Golden Globe Red Carpet (NBC) The Simpsons (Fox) Jericho (The CW) |
8.2 29.7 7.7 3.1 (repeat) .8 (repeat) |
| 7:30 p.m. | The Simpsons (Fox) | 4.7 (repeat) |
| 8 p.m. | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) 60 Minutes (CBS) Golden Globes (NBC) 24 (Fox) Movie: Carrie (The CW) |
10.3 15.7 14.6 12.6 1.4 |
| 9 p.m. | Desperate Housewives (ABC) Cold Case (CBS) |
13.8 12.4 |
| 10 p.m. | Brothers and Sisters (ABC) The Unit (CBS) |
9.1 10.4 |
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Comments (1-5) of 5 Add your comment
Both the Golden Globes and “24″ did well after being affected by the Writer’s Strike.
I was so excited for the 24 season 7 premiere after seeing the movie…but it was A BORE…so dissapointed
THey really some younger actors/actress on the show…I was sooo excited to see the president’s son on the show (so GORGEOUS…but then they just kill him off right off the bat)….totally lost interest in this show…
If you were only watching to see a character that was just introduced (the President’s son). You were not a fan to begin with.
He dies?!
Eh, I watched the Giants game, then the Steelers-Chargers game. In the age of YouTube, you don’t need to watch awards shows anymore. You can watch the best parts online on your office computer the next day.