Football, ‘This Is Us’ help NBC to Nielsen win

Football, ‘This Is Us’ help NBC to Nielsen win

NEW YORK

Another week of football meant another winning week for NBC, according to the Nielsen company. A pair of NFL face-offs handed NBC the week’s most-watched and third-ranked programs, Nielsen said Tuesday.

But NBC had more in its playbook: a solid new hit drama. Although “This Is Us” isn’t the fall’s biggest new hit – CBS’s “Bull” took the No. 7 slot last week – this gentle family drama continued to make NBC proud, landing in the No. 9 position with nearly 11 million viewers.

For the week of Dec. 5-11, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: Dallas at New York Giants, NBC, 26.50 million; “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 19.00 million; NFL Football: Oakland at Kansas City, NBC, 17.40 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 14.69 million; “Football Night in America,” NBC, 12.91 million; “The OT,” Fox, 11.89 million; “Bull,” CBS, 11.68 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 11.13 million; “This is Us,” NBC, 10.95 million; NFL Football Pre-Kick: Oakland at Kansas City, NBC, 10.88 million.

Publicist: Actor Alan Thicke dies at age 69

LOs angeles

Alan Thicke, an actor best-known for helping set a template for parenting ideals in the ’80s sitcom “Growing Pains,” has died of a heart attack. He was 69.

His death was confirmed with the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday evening by the publicist of his son, pop-soul singer Robin Thicke.

A songwriter and producer during his career in addition to being an actor and presenter, the Canadian-born Thicke had continued to appear in TV roles up through this year, including recent appearances on NBC’s drama “This Is Us” and Netflix’s “Fuller House.”

Combined dispatches