A night of virtually all-new programming brought in plenty of viewers.
CBS: Back with new episodes for the first time in over a month, the network was up across the board by 0.2-0.4. On a night where football reigned, that didn't win any hours, but bodes very well for when the atypical competition is gone.
NBC: Even poor CHUCK got an upswing as it enters its final month of existence, albeit to a 1.0. The night's only rerun, GRIMM, couldn't even beat CW in its hour.
CW: Both NIKITA and SUPERNATURAL were up 0.1 from their pre-hiatus episodes, giving them solid numbers for that network.
ABC: EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION, on the verge of fading into non-regular programming, was up to 1.4-1.6 over its 2 hours. With a new Blue Bloods on hand at 10PM, 20/20 fell into 4th place (because FOX was still airing its game) for its hour.
FOX: The COTTON BOWL didn't score a huge number (its final rating, probably somewhere around a 3, will be determined early next week when national numbers are released), but it was strong enough to win every hour of the night.
Sunday's schedule will bring plenty to keep an eye on: CBS will be all new (and will start the night with a sure-to-be-massive overrun from the Denver/Pittsburgh NFL playoff game), ABC and FOX are also stocked with fresh episodes, and NBC debuts its much-hyped series version of THE FIRM. But a lot of the action will also be taking place elsewhere, as Showtime debuts HOUSE OF LIES and brings back SHAMELESS and CALIFORNICATION, and PBS, of all networks, achieves relevance with the return of the beloved DOWNTON ABBEY.
