nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, december 12, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

A strong showing from "Sunday Night Football" (23.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 8.5, #1) had no trouble putting NBC (18.85 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1) in front last night. Leading off the evening were the usual pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (8.28 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T11), "Football Night in America #2" (11.17 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.9, #5) and "Football Night in America #3" (16.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 5.6, #2).

CBS (14.18 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2) then claimed the silver with a half-hour "NFL Overrun" (24.18 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T11) followed by new episodes of "60 Minutes" (17.15 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #T3), "The Amazing Race 17" (11.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T6), "Undercover Boss" (10.96 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.0, #10) and "CSI: Miami" (9.61 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T15).

Next up was FOX (6.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) with repeats of "Running Wilde" (3.54 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 1.2, #18) and "The Simpsons" (3.87 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.7, #17) followed by a new "The Simpsons" (7.31 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 3.3, #8), a one-hour "Family Guy" (8.02 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 4.0, #T3) and a new "American Dad" (6.26 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 3.1, #9).

And finally, a repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (8.80 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T15) led into new episodes of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8.58 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.4, #14), "Desperate Housewives" (11.45 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T6) and "Brothers & Sisters" (8.77 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T11) on ABC (9.40 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): 60 Minutes (48.10%), Family Guy (33.30%), The Amazing Race 17 (25.00%), American Dad (24.00%), Sunday Night Football (16.40%), Brothers & Sisters (13.60%), Undercover Boss (11.10%), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (9.10%), Desperate Housewives (0.00%), CSI: Miami (-8.30%), The Simpsons (-21.40%).

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/13/09):

NBC (15.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.7, #1) was once again the network to beat on Sunday with its "Sunday Night Football" (18.94 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.0, #1) coverage. Opening the night were its pre-game specials "Football Night in America #1" (7.24 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.3, #12), "Football Night in America #2" (10.00 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.6, #5) and "Football Night in America #3" (14.00 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 5.0, #3).

CBS (12.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then claimed the silver with its "NFL Overrun" (22.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.7, #2) followed by a new "60 Minutes" (14.59 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T7), a repeat of "The Mentalist" (9.56 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #16), a new "Cold Case" (9.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #13) and a repeat of "Criminal Minds" (7.89 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #15).

Next up was ABC (10.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3) with its mix of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (8.68 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #14), a two-hour "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (10.23 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T7) and "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special" (11.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #11).

And finally, FOX (5.61 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #4) fell to fourth with a full hour of "Brothers" (3.08 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.1, #17) followed by new episodes of "The Simpsons" (7.11 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6), "The Cleveland Show" (6.52 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 3.0, #10), "Family Guy" (7.68 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 3.8, #4) and "American Dad" (6.19 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T7).

Source: Nielsen Media Research