Previewing Fall 2012 Sunday Nights.

Now that the BIG 4 have released their 2012 fall schedules, its time to see who the winners and losers are. I will go night by night and hour by hour looking at the head-to-head battles.

Sundays at 7:00pm

Nothing has changed in this hour. FOX and CBS will benefit from NFL overruns when they have national double-headers. Their regular 7pm  programs will be up and down.  ABC and NBC will not be doing much in this hour until late January/February.

Sundays at 8:00pm
New to the hour will be the second season of FASHION STAR from NBC. It is pretty much a sacrificial lamb and will be a distant fourth place program in the hour. SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL will win the hour every week, but ONCE UPON A TIME will be in second place on most weeks. CBS will be up and down through the fall as NFL Overrun will shift programs and ratings.

Sundays at 9:00pm

Its a battle for second place as CBS and ABC go after females and FOX targets young males. Animation Domination will be down in the ratings once again, but should still be second, to the NFL on NBC, in the 18-49 demo ratings. CBS is keeping THE GOOD WIFE in its same time slot, hoping that former DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES viewers will migrate over. ABC is trying to sustain its ratings by moving REVENGE into the hour. Expect more of the same. TGW will grab more total viewers, but REVENGE will edge over it in the demo ratings.

Sundays at 10:00pm

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL will still be #1 in the hour, but its now fair game for the battle of 2nd place between the two other networks. CBS is moving THE MENTALIST to Sundays to help both the night and THE GOOD WIFE in the ratings. ABC is hoping the new series 666 PARK AVENUE will possess the answer that GCB didn't have. Initially, I think 666 PARK AVENUE will get heavily sampled and post numbers better than THE MENTALIST, but in the long run CBS will own the hour, especially once the winter comes along.

On the Night:

After NBC it will be a mixed bag of who does well and who doesn't. FOX will do well in the demo and CBS will have high viewership. ABC should be a more even balance between both measurement categories.

1. NBC
2. FOX (demo)
3. CBS (viewers)
4. ABC