Matt Buckler: 'Young Sheldon' has solid ratings night

Dec. 7—Thursday was a night that was stuffed with big events. NBC had its much anticipated presentation of "Annie Live" and ABC had Alec Baldwin's first interview since the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie "Rust."

One person, however, was able to beat them both in total audience — "Young Sheldon."

Without any of the hype that accompanied the other two telecasts, "Sheldon" was able to finish ahead of them in total viewers and in two key demographics.

The final toteboard reads "Young Sheldon" with 6.6 million viewers, "Annie" with 5.3 million viewers and the Alec Baldwin interview attracting 4.2 million.

"United States of Al," with 4.6 million viewers, and "Ghosts," with 5.5 million, also chalked up more viewers than the Baldwin interview.

The big winner on Thursday, however, was the National Football League.

The Dallas Cowboys are always a big draw on national television and that was the case Thursday when their game with the New Orleans Saints brought in 16.7 million viewers. Even the pre-game show numbers were impressive — 9.7 million.

The Baldwin interview received most of the social media attention, but the Cowboys and the Saints received most of the viewers.

Manning moments

If you want to know who carried the ball on every play or who made the tackle — and if you're a fan of statistics that really have nothing to do with the game — the Manning Cast on ESPN2 is not for you.

If you want to learn more about football, however, Peyton Manning and his brother Eli, who play host to an alternate telecast on ESPN2, are the two best analysts in the game. Tony "Rambling" Romo has a $16 million contract, but he changes his thoughts in mid-sentence and can't explain the game the way the Mannings do.

That was especially true during the first quarter of Monday's New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills game. Because they didn't have a first quarter guest, the Mannings were able to break down the game perfectly, telling viewers what to expect from the Patriots.

When the guests enter into the picture, the Mannings are focused more on them and less on the game. They have gotten smoother as the season has gone on.

Much of the publicity the alternate telecasts generated had nothing to do with the game, such as Marshawn Lynch's X-rated language outburst and Eli Manning's two-fingered salute.

When it comes to talking football, however, the Manning brothers are the best. Their rookie seasons on ESPN2 are even more effective than their rookie years in the NFL.

Cuomo countermove

It has been a brutal week for former CNN TV host Chris Cuomo. First he was suspended and then he was fired. The hits continued to come Cuomo's way on Monday when he left his job on Sirius radio. He either quit, or was forced out because of the sexual misconduct accusations made by an ABC staffer, depending on what news reports you read.

Cuomo, however, may be doing something about it. The New York Post is reporting that its sources have said Cuomo is planning to sue CNN for the remaining time on his contract, which would be worth about $18 million.

When Don Imus was fired from WFAN-AM radio after derogatory comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team, he received an impressive settlement from CBS, which owned the station at the time.

So even if you screw up, which Cuomo obviously did in helping his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, you can still get rewarded.

No wonder so many people want to be TV anchors.