'Family Guy' variety show solid against NFL

Fox's grand "Family Guy" variety show experiment drew respectable numbers Sunday evening against heavy competition from NBC's "Sunday Night Football."

Seth MacFarlane at last gained control of Fox's entire animated block. Yet even with an original "American Dad" (4.5 million viewers, 2.1 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) to kick things off early at 7:30 p.m., the 8-10 p.m. lineup was down 8% compared to its last all-original airing.

"Family Guy" (7.4 million, 3.7) tied the most recent "Simpsons" in the 8 p.m. slot, followed by "Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" (6.6 million, 3.4), another "Family Guy" (7.7 million, 4.1) and then a season-low "Cleveland" (6.3 million, 3.2) in the usual "American Dad" slot. The 8:30 p.m. variety show was down 29% from the "Family Guy" average at 9 p.m.

Nothing embarrassing in these numbers, but they hint that fans might prefer Fox's usual Sunday animation configuration.

NBC ruled Sunday with its Dallas vs. Philadelphia game (10.1 million, 7.6) and a stronger-than-usual pregame (12.8 million, 4.1). CBS was boosted by some NFL overrun and tied Fox for second place. "Amazing Race" (10.6 million, 3.1), "Three Rivers" (8 million, 1.8) and "Cold Case" (7.8 million, 1.6) ratings are approximate, but look about right.

ABC was hit hard this week: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (10.4 million, 3.0) was down 9%, "Desperate Housewives" (13.3. million, 4.3) fell 14% and "Brothers & Sisters" (9.1 million, 2.9) fell 12%, with both the dramas hitting season lows. "Housewives" was, however, the top-rated scripted show on Sunday for the fifth week running.