nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 8, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for FOX and CBS are approximate on the night.]

CBS (13.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) claimed top honors on Thursday with the fall finale of "The Big Bang Theory" (14.42 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) followed by new episodes of "Rules of Engagement" (10.96 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2), "Person of Interest" (13.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3) and "The Mentalist" (13.75 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3).

FOX (9.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then took home the silver with new episodes of "The X Factor" (9.94 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3) and "Bones" (9.01 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

Next up was NBC (4.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with its mix of "Community" (3.62 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13), "Parks & Recreation" (3.66 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11), "The Office" (5.80 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6), "Whitney" (4.14 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8) and a special "Grimm" (4.10 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12).

Meanwhile, ABC (5.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) didn't get much spark from its specials "Winter Wipeout" (6.63 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8), "America's Funniest Home Videos: Christmas Spectacular" (6.49 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8) and "The Great American Auction" (4.78 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T14).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.25 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) and "The Secret Circle" (0.87 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.06 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.6 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - The Mentalist (vs. 11/17/11)
+15.38% - Person of Interest (vs. 11/17/11)
0.00% - The Office
0.00% - Whitney
-3.23% - The X Factor
-3.57% - Bones
-5.56% - Parks & Recreation
-9.62% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 11/17/11)
-11.11% - Rules of Engagement (vs. 11/17/11)
-11.76% - Community

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+42.11% - Bones (vs. Fringe)
+30.43% - The X Factor (vs. Bones)
+25.00% - The Mentalist
+23.68% - The Big Bang Theory
+18.52% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
0.00% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-2.56% - Winter Wipeout (vs. Shrek the Halls/Disney Prep & Landing)
-11.11% - Grimm (vs. The Apprentice)
-22.73% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
-23.68% - The Office
-25.00% - Community
-34.48% - America's Funniest Home Videos: Christmas Spectacular (vs. Barbara Walters Special: Oprah, The Next Chapter)
-50.00% - Whitney (vs. The Office)
-56.25% - The Great American Auction (vs. Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2010)

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.1/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.9/4; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/9/10):

CBS (12.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1), despite across the board dips (see below for specifics), held onto the top spot on Thursday with new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (12.13 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (9.50 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (13.14 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4) and "The Mentalist" (13.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7).

ABC (10.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then took home a competitive second place with its mix of "Shrek the Halls" (6.94 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T13), "Disney Prep & Landing" (7.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #10), "Barbara Walters Special: Oprah, The Next Chapter" (13.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #5) and "Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2010" (12.15 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3).

Next up was NBC (5.69 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) with new episodes of "Community" (4.74 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11) and "30 Rock" (5.24 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.2, #9) followed by a one-hour "The Office" (7.59 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T1) and the season finale of "The Apprentice" (4.50 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T13). Said number for "Apprentice" in the key demo graphic marked a season high.

Meanwhile, FOX (7.02 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) offered up the fall finales of "Bones" (8.76 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8) and "Fringe" (5.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #12).

And finally, The CW (2.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) did the same with "The Vampire Diaries" (3.12 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #15) and "Nikita" (2.31 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Apprentice (28.60%), Fringe (5.60%), Community (5.30%), The Office (2.70%), Bones (-4.20%), 30 Rock (-4.30%), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (-6.30% vs. 11/18/10), The Big Bang Theory (-11.60% vs. 11/18/10), Bleep My Dad Says (-12.90% vs. 11/18/10), The Vampire Diaries (-18.80%), Nikita (-20.00%), The Mentalist (-20.00% vs. 11/18/10).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (4.0/9) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.9/7) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.1/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.9/6) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.6/5) and "Daly" (0.9/4) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research