nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, january 4, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

The season premiere of "The Biggest Loser" (8.74 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) and a new "Parenthood" (6.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) helped NBC (7.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) take home the adults 18-49 crown on Tuesday.

CBS (10.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) however was the most-watched network with the two-hour launch of "Live to Dance" (10.22 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) followed by a repeat of "NCIS" (10.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6).

Next up was ABC (6.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with a new "No Ordinary Family" (6.75 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5) followed by the return of "V" (6.58 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) and a new "Detroit 187" (5.16 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8).

Meanwhile, FOX (4.26 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up a repeat of "Glee" (4.72 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7) and a new "Million Dollar Money Drop" (3.79 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "One Tree Hill" (1.02 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #10) and "Life Unexpected" (0.83 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) on The CW (0.93 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Parenthood (21.10% vs. 11/23/10), No Ordinary Family (0.00% vs. 12/7/10), Detroit 187 (-7.10% vs. 12/7/10).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.1/7) took top honors over CBS's "Letterman" (2.9/7) and NBC's "Leno" (2.7/6). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.4/4) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.3/4) and "Daly" (0.8/3) on NBC.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/5/10):

NBC (9.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) narrowly snagged the top spot on Tuesday thanks to the season premiere of "The Biggest Loser" (11.68 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.6, #1) and a new "The Jay Leno Show" (6.39 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #6).

The silver then went to CBS (17.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #2) despite new episodes of "NCIS" (21.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #2), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (17.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) and "The Good Wife" (13.85 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5).

Next up was FOX (9.75 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) with its coverage of the "FedEx Orange Bowl" (9.75 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) was out of the hunt with its mix of "Scrubs" (3.86 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7), "Better Off Ted" (2.99 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9), another "Scrubs" (3.05 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8), another "Better Off Ted" (2.60 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11) and "The Forgotten" (4.38 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.95 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "Melrose Place" (0.78 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) on The CW (0.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research