Nielsen ratings: Football draws big numbers

Ready for football? A pair of college football championship semifinal bowl games on ESPN Thursday topped TV ratings last week, and were among cable's best ever, with 28.3 million and 28.2 million viewers. On broadcast, NBC's Wild Card NFL playoff was tops with 27.9 million Saturday.

Drop the ball. ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest claimed 12.9 million viewers for its late prime-time portion, easily topping rival NBC's Carson Daly special (5.4 million). CBS' Kennedy Center Honors special Tuesday drew 9.3 million, its best showing since 2010.

Premieres. ABC's Galavant had a decent start Sunday with 7.4 million, though it was below the season opener of Once Upon a Time, which it's temporarily replacing. And NBC's Celebrity Apprentice returned with 6.8 million, up from last spring's 5.2 million.