Sunday Night Ratings: ONCE UPON A TIME, REVENGE, THE GOOD WIFE Down From Last Year

Even shirtless Justin Hartley and Josh Bowman couldn't help the
REVENGE ratings on Sunday. DVRs numbers should help. From a
story standpoint, it looks like the show is back on track.

The NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons averaged topped Sunday night in Fast National ratings, of course. The more surprising numbers came from every single broadcast television premiere, which was down from last season.

According to THR, ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME brought in the network's biggest numbers with a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 at 8 p.m. That's down a steep 35 percent from last fall's opener. REVENGE, down about 25 percent, averaged a 2.5 rating in the key demo. Both shows saw strong DVR growth throughout their sophomore runs, so those numbers will likely be boosted significantly in Live+Three Day returns.

BETRAYAL did not buck the trend of soft debuts in the network's troubled 10 p.m. hour. The series premiere averaged a 1.5 rating in the key demo, giving ABC an average 2.0 adults rating and 6.7 million viewers for the night. This was down 29 percent from the premiere of 666 PARK AVENUE in 2012.

CBS saw its primetime lineup delayed 15 minutes by FNL overrun in most major markets, leaving premiere ratings for THE GOOD WIFE (1.5 adults) tentative and subject to change -- though the ratings will be down from last fall's premiere. The network averaged a 1.6 rating with 18-49-ers and 9.5 million viewers.

AMC's BREAKING BAD capped its historic run last night, delivering a series-record 10.3 million viewers, including 6.7 million adults 18-49. Ratings for the final episode were up 300% over last year's finale, demonstrating the remarkable growth of this iconic series. An expanded one-hour TALKING BAD aftershow delivered 4.4 million viewers, including 2.9 million adults 18-49.

Showtime's HOMELAND had its highest-rated season premiere yet with 1.9 million viewers on Sunday night at 9 p.m. and 2.61 million viewers for the night

From ABC:
ABC Sunday Prime (7-11 p.m. – 6.7 million and 2.0/5 in AD18-49): Opposite NBC’s SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL and an NFL overrun-boosted Fox, ABC beat its non-sports competition on Sunday night by 25% in Adults 18-49 (CBS = 1.6/4). ABC’s season premieres of ONCE UPON A TIME (2.6/7) and REVENGE (2.4/6) opened as Sunday’s top-rated broadcast dramas in Adults 18-49, leading by strong margins over CBS’ season openers of THE GOOD WIFE (1.5/3) and THE MENTALIST (1.6/4).

ONCE UPON A TIME RECAP SPECIAL (7-8 p.m. – 5.1 million and 1.3/4 in AD18-49).

ONCE UPON A TIME (8-9 p.m. – 8.5 million and 2.6/7 in AD18-49): Building sharply on its lead-in at 8pm, ABC’s season opener of ONCE UPON A TIME was the #1 entertainment program in the 8 o’clock hour, leading season premieres of CBS’ AMAZING RACE (+30% - 2.0/6) and Fox’s NFL-led comedies (+4% - 2.5/7 for THE SIMPSONS/BOB'S BURGERS). Topping its May finale (+13% - 2.3/7), ONCE UPON A TIME was also up 13% from its Jan-May average for originals in Adults 18-49 (Jan 6-May 12 L+SD originals = 2.3/6). In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ONCE UPON A TIME earned its highest numbers since January – since 1/6/13 and 1/13/13, respectively. The ABC drama was the #1 most social broadcast series of the evening with 136,627 tweets, the highest number ever for the show.

REVENGE (9-10 p.m. – 8.0 million and 2.4/6 in AD18-49): Retaining 92% of its lead-in at 9pm, ABC’s REVENGE opener beat out CBS’ The Good Wife opener in the hour by 60% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 1.5/3). Like its lead-in, REVENGE outdelivered its May finale (+41% - 1.7/5) and was up 33% over its Jan-May average for originals (Jan 6-May 12 L+SD originals = 1.8/4). The ABC drama drew its biggest audience since October and equaled its best young adult rating since November - since 10/28/12 and 11/11/12, respectively.

BETRAYAL (10-11 p.m. – 5.3 million and 1.5/4 in AD18-49): In Adults 18-49, the series debut of BETRAYAL was up over ABC’s most-recent drama debut in the hour (+7% - 1.4/4 for Red Widow on 3/3/13) and topped the drama’s overall average by 36% (1.1/3 – L+SD March 3-May 5). In the 10 o’clock hour, the new ABC drama ran neck-and-neck with CBS’ season premiere of THE MENTALIST in Adults 18-49 and led with Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).