nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, december 25, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (17.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.5, #1) was the network to beat on Christmas evening with its usual mix of "Football Night in America #1" (8.44 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5), "Football Night in America #2" (9.66 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4), "Football Night in America #3" (16.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.2, #2) and "Sunday Night Football" (21.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1).

ABC (4.76 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then took home the silver with its mix of "NBA Overrun" (8.53 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3), the animated "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (4.29 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6) and the feature "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (3.34 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #7).

Next up was CBS (5.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) and its combination of "60 Minutes" (6.40 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (5.22 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14), "The Good Wife" (4.22 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15) and "CSI: Miami" (5.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "Bob's Burgers" (1.10 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.3, #17), "The Cleveland Show" (1.26 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16), "The Simpsons" (1.96 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), another "The Cleveland Show" (2.02 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "Family Guy" (2.33 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) and "American Dad" (2.23 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) on FOX (1.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+30.77% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+423.08% - Sunday Night Football (vs. Minute to Win It (Repeat)/Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))

[NOTE: Today's numbers are courtesy of TVMediaInsights.com due to delays from our usual sources.]

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/26/10):

FOX (8.23 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) took home the adults 18-49 crown on the final Sunday of 2010 with its mix of "NFL Overrun" (19.11 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.4, #1), "The OT" (10.72 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2), "The Simpsons" (6.38 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3), "The Cleveland Show" (4.86 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.2, #5), "Family Guy" (5.29 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.5, #4) and a new "Running Wilde" (3.00 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.3, #15).

CBS (8.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then was the most-watched network with its combination of "60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild" (11.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #7), "Undercover Boss" (8.41 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #8), "CSI: Miami" (6.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T11) and "The Mentalist" (7.33 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T9).

Next up was ABC (6.24 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) with its annual rebroadcast of "The Sound of Music" (6.24 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T11).

And finally, NBC (4.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) served up a last-minute "SNF"-less lineup of "Football Night in America #1" (3.73 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.0, #17), "Football Night in America #2" (4.52 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T9), "Football Night in America #3" (6.60 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #6), "Minute to Win It" (4.53 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T11), another "Minute to Win It" (4.34 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T11) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.76 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #16).

Source: Nielsen Media Research