nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, january 22, 2011)

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

FOX (4.94 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) was the demo king once again on Saturday with its usual combination of "Cops" (4.73 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T1) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.16 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T1).

CBS (5.27 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2) then was the most-watched network with its mix of "CSI: Miami" (4.60 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #8), "The Mentalist" (5.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (6.12 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3).

Next up was ABC (3.10 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2) with encores of "Wipeout" (4.04 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) and "Blades of Glory" (2.62 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "Harry's Law" (4.05 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.80 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.10 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) on NBC (4.32 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the evening.

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/23/10):

FOX (5.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its usual mix of "Cops" (6.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) and "America's Most Wanted" (5.52 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2).

Second place then went to CBS (5.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (3.99 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #7), "Criminal Minds" (6.02 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (6.53 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.19 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) offered up a repeat of "Mercy" (1.91 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and its coverage of the "U.S. Figure Skating Championships" (5.33 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5).

And finally, repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" (2.06 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8), "The Deep End" (1.84 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "Castle" (3.73 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #6) on ABC (2.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research