nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, january 3, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (16.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) overshadowed the competition with new episodes of "NCIS" (20.02 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (17.07 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) and "Unforgettable" (11.62 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) on Tuesday.

NBC (5.96 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then took home the silver with the 2012 premieres of "The Biggest Loser 13" (6.46 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5) and "Parenthood" (4.95 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #8).

Next up was ABC (6.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) with a new "Last Man Standing" (7.87 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #4), the premiere of "Work It" (6.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.0, #7), the time period premiere of "Celebrity Wife Swap" (6.00 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #6) and a new "Body of Proof" (6.97 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #9).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.58 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up repeats of "Glee" (2.49 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11), "New Girl" (3.06 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10) and "Raising Hope" (2.26 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Secret Circle" (1.00 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and another "The Secret Circle" (0.72 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (0.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Circle" posted a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - NCIS (vs. 12/13/11)
+19.05% - Unforgettable (vs. 12/13/11)
+16.67% - NCIS: Los Angeles (vs. 12/13/11)
+9.09% - Last Man Standing (vs. 12/13/11)
0.00% - Body of Proof (vs. 12/6/11)
-14.81% - The Biggest Loser 13 (vs. 12/13/11)
-22.73% - Parenthood (vs. 11/29/11)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - NCIS (vs. Live to Dance)
+45.83% - NCIS: Los Angeles (vs. Live to Dance)
+38.89% - Unforgettable (vs. NCIS (Repeat))
+26.32% - Last Man Standing (vs. No Ordinary Family)
+15.38% - Body of Proof (vs. Detroit 187)
+5.26% - Work It (vs. No Ordinary Family)
+4.76% - Celebrity Wife Swap (vs. V)
-26.09% - Parenthood
-30.30% - The Biggest Loser 13

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," 2.7/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/6; 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," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.8/3; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/4/11):

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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research