NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Besides live sports, the one thing broadcast networks can be counted on for these days is franchise procedural dramas.
That was evident on opening week of a new television season, when the 10 most-watched scripted programs all fit this tried-and-true formula, according to the Nielsen company.
There were three programs each in CBS' 鈥淔BI鈥� series and NBC's 鈥淐hicago鈥� shows, and two each of CBS' 鈥淣CIS鈥� shows and NBC's 鈥淟aw & Order鈥� franchise.
No comedies appeared in Nielsen's top 20 programs.
Buoyed by 鈥淪unday Night Football,鈥� NBC won the week in prime time with an average of 6 million viewers. ABC had 4.5 million, Fox had 4 million, CBS had 3.9 million, Univision had 1.2 million, Ion Television had 960,000 and Telemundo had 850,000.
Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network, averaging 2.12 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 2.02 million, MSNBC had 1.21 million, HGTV had 811,000 and Hallmark had 688,000.
ABC's 鈥淲orld News Tonight鈥� won the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.6 million viewers. NBC's 鈥淣ightly News鈥� had 6.5 million and the 鈥淐BS Evening News鈥� had 4.6 million.
For the week of Sept. 19-25, the 20 most-watched programs in prime time, their networks and viewerships:
1. NFL Football: San Francisco at Denver, NBC, 17.8 million.
2. NFL Football: Minnesota at Philadelphia, ABC, 12.86 million.
3. 鈥淣FL Pregame,鈥� NBC, 12.85 million.
4. 鈥淭he OT,鈥� Fox, 12.13 million.
5. 鈥淔ootball Night in America,鈥� NBC, 9.11 million.
6. 鈥�60 Minutes," CBS, 7.14 million.
7. 鈥淔BI,鈥� CBS, 6.81 million.
8. 鈥淐hicago Fire,鈥� NBC, 6.75 million.
9. 鈥淐hicago Med,鈥� NBC, 6.59 million.
10. NFL Football: Tennessee at Buffalo, ESPN, 6.57 million.
11. 鈥淭he Voice鈥� (Tuesday), NBC, 6.19 million.
12. 鈥淣FL Pregame,鈥� ABC, 6.16 million.
13. 鈥淭he Voice鈥� (Monday), NBC, 6.12 million.
14. 鈥淣CIS,鈥� CBS, 5.82 million.
15. 鈥淐hicago PD,鈥� NBC, 5.48 million.
16. 鈥淟aw & Order: SVU,鈥� NBC, 5.47 million.
17. 鈥淔BI: International,鈥� CBS, 5.44 million.
18. 鈥淣CIS: Hawai'i," CBS, 5.31 million.
19. 鈥淔BI: Most Wanted," CBS, 5.27 million.
20. 鈥淪urvivor,鈥� CBS, 5.05 million.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
