A fixation with the numbing NFL Nielsen numbers without trying to asphyxiate you

According to current NFL data, NFL games account for the nine most-watched programs on television since the season kicked off on Sept. 9, according to The Nielsen Company.

We'll make a wager that gambling and fantasy leagues have a lot of drive for those numbers.

Closer to home, NFL games have accounted for 13 of the top 20 telecasts in Los Angeles.

The data (with ranking, show, date, network, rating, share and total L.A. households):
1. "Dancing With the Stars" Sept. 20 on ABC / 15.7 / 24 / 889,000
2. NFL: Dallas-Minnesota Oct. 17 on Fox / 14.3 / 30 / 810,000
3. "Dancing With the Stars" Sept. 27 on ABC / 14.3 / 22 / 809,000
4. NFL: Minnesota-New Orleans Sept. 9 on NBC / 14.3 / 26 / 808,000
5. NFL: Dallas-Washington Sept. 12 on NBC / 14.0 / 25 / 790,000
6. NFL: Minnesota-N.Y. Jets Oct. 11 on ESPN / 13.6 / 22 / 773,000
7. "Dancing With the Stars" Oct. 4 on ABC / 13.4 / 21 / 760,000
8. "Dancing With the Stars" Oct. 11 on ABC / 12.9 / 19 / 731,000
9. NFL: N.Y. Jets-Miami Sept 26 on NBC / 12.7 / 23 / 720,000
10. NFL: Washington-Philadelphia Oct. 3 on Fox / 12.1 / 27 / 685,000
11. NFL: Indianapolis-Washington Oct. 17 on NBC / 11.9 / 20 / 672,000
12. NFL: Houston-Washington Sept. 19 on CBS / 11.8 / 27 / 668,000
13. "Dancing With the Stars" results Sept. 21 on ABC / 11.8 / 19 / 667,000
14. "Dancing With the Stars" results Oct. 12 on ABC / 11.7 / 18 / 661,000
15. NFL: New England-N.Y. Jets Sept 19 on CBS / 11.6 / 27/ 654,000
16. NFL: Chicago-N.Y. Giants Oct. 3 on NBC / 11.4 / 21 / 646,000
17. NFL: Philadelphia-San Francisco Oct. 10 on NBC / 11.3 / 20 / 639,000
18. "Dancing With the Stars" results Sept. 28 on ABC / 11.3 / 19 / 639,000
19. NFL: N.Y. Giants-Indianapolis Sept. 19 on NBC / 11.3 / 22 / 638,000
20. NFL: San Diego-Kansas City Sept. 13 on ESPN / 11.2 / 18 / 634,000

By the way, NFL games have provided eight of the top 20 programs for Los Angeles during the 2009-10 broadcast season (from September to May).

The list that L.A. generated for that period (with ranking, event and rating):
1. Super Bowl 44: 39.4
2. Super Bowl 44 postgame: 32.3
3. Academy Awards: 29.8
4. Super Bowl 44 kickoff: 27.1
5. NFC championship (New Orleans/Minnesota): 26.6
6. AFC championship (N.Y. Jets/Indianapolis): 21.2
7. AFC playoff game (San Diego/N.Y. Jets): 20.3
8. NFC playoff game (Dallas/Minnesota): 18.5
9. Grammy Awards: 18.4
10. "Undercover Boss" (post Super Bowl 44): 18.4
11. Winter Olympics opening ceremony: 17.7
12. Oscars Red Carpet show: 17.2
13. "Dancing With the Stars": 17.1
14. NBA playoffs (Lakers/Phoenix): 17.0
15. "American Idol": 16.9
16. NBA playoffs (Lakers/Phoenix): 16.6
17. NFC wildcard game (Green Bay/Arizona): 16.5
18. "Barbara Walters Special": 16.3
19. BCS championship (Texas/Alabama): 16.0
20. "American Idol": 16.0