The Prime Time Lineup

Fox's Sunday night offerings (mostly) hold their own against the sports onslaught.

... FOX's ANIMATION DOMINATION lineup faced strong competition from the AFC Championship Playoffs on CBS. At 7pm an encore THE SIMPSONS posted a 2.1/5 among Adults 18-49 followed by AMERICAN DAD (2.2/5), up +29% from last week (1.7/4).

THE SIMPSONS at 8pm posted a 3.1/7 among Adults 18-49 -- same as last week -- while BOB'S BURGERS declined -12% from last week's telecast (2.2/5 vs. 2.5/6) ... FOX ranked No. 2 among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens. ...

The best news here is that American Dad, which was the last of Fox Animation's three McFarlane shows to get a new-season pickup, is climbing in the ratings. And why Fox is getting traction and continued success from prime time animation while every other broadcaster appears to have given up putting cartoon comedies on the air in the evening hours is a mystery known to programmers and God, but certainly not us.

I mean, nobody gives up on live-action sitcoms just because a half-dozen of them tank. But few networks give animation the same love and support.