nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, december 18, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

New episodes of "Cops" (4.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T1) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.68 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T1) put FOX (4.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) in front on a low-key Saturday.

ABC (3.54 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then claimed the silver with rebroadcasts of "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" (3.04 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8) and "Madagascar" (3.79 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4).

Next up was CBS (5.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and its mix of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (4.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #7), "CSI: Miami" (6.11 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (5.68 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3).

And finally, NBC (2.82 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the evening with its combination of "The Office" (2.07 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10), "WWE Tribute to the Troops" (2.34 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T5).

And in late-night, a new "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 4.9 household rating, 12 share in the metered markets.

Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/19/09):

Mainstays "Cops" (4.69 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) lifted FOX (4.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) to an easy win on Saturday.

The silver was split between ABC (4.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and CBS (4.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) as the former offered up repeats of "The Santa Clause" (4.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) and "Castle" (3.79 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #7).

The Eye then served up a repeat of "Elf" (3.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (4.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3).

Rounding out the evening was NBC (2.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) with its mix of "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" (2.30 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #9), "WWE Salute to the Troops" (2.39 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.99 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research