nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, march 18, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for CBS are approximate. CBS prime programming began at 7:44p.]

CBS (9.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) edged out the competition on Sunday thanks to an "NCAA Overrun" (10.63 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T1) followed by new episodes of "60 Minutes" (10.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T6), "The Amazing Race 20" (9.75 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #4), "The Good Wife" (9.15 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10) and "CSI: Miami" (8.66 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T12).

ABC (7.49 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then was a competitive second place with its mix of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.12 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #15), "Once Upon a Time" (8.57 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T1) - ties with its series low, "Desperate Housewives" (8.99 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.5, #5) and "GCB" (6.28 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10) - a series low.

Next up was FOX (4.28 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) with an encore of "The Simpsons" (2.53 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 1.0, #18) followed by new episodes of "The Cleveland Show" (3.27 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.5, #14), "The Simpsons" (5.24 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T6), "Bob's Burgers" (4.39 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 2.1, #9), "Family Guy" (5.68 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3) and "American Dad" (4.61 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8).

And finally, NBC (6.42 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) closed out the evening with its combination of "Dateline NBC" (6.18 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T16), "Harry's Law" (7.92 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T16) - tied with its series low - and "The Celebrity Apprentice" (5.79 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T12) - matching its lowest rating ever with a celebrity cast.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - 60 Minutes
+22.22% - Dateline NBC
+17.65% - The Good Wife
+10.53% - Bob's Burgers
+4.35% - The Simpsons
+3.57% - Once Upon a Time
0.00% - Family Guy
0.00% - Desperate Housewives
0.00% - American Dad
0.00% - America's Funniest Home Videos
0.00% - Harry's Law
-6.25% - The Cleveland Show
-7.14% - The Amazing Race 20
-10.00% - The Celebrity Apprentice
-13.04% - GCB
-14.29% - CSI: Miami

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+81.82% - GCB (vs. Detroit 187)
+38.10% - NCAA Overrun
+31.58% - Desperate Housewives (vs. Shark Tank)
+22.22% - Dateline NBC
+20.83% - Once Upon a Time (vs. Secret Millionaire)
+20.00% - The Simpsons (vs. The Simpsons (Repeat))
+15.38% - The Cleveland Show (vs. American Dad (Repeat))
+9.09% - 60 Minutes
-3.70% - The Amazing Race 20
-4.55% - Bob's Burgers
-8.33% - Harry's Law (vs. America's Next Great Restaurant)
-13.33% - America's Funniest Home Videos (vs. America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat))
-17.65% - Family Guy
-18.52% - American Dad (vs. The Cleveland Show)
-28.00% - CSI: Miami
-31.03% - The Good Wife (vs. Undercover Boss)
-35.71% - The Celebrity Apprentice

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/20/11):

CBS (10.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) snagged the top spot on Sunday with its mix of (half-hour results only) "NCAA Overrun" (9.98 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #10), "60 Minutes" (11.53 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8), "The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business" (10.18 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4), "Undercover Boss" (11.70 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (10.62 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #6).

FOX (4.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "The Simpsons" (2.41 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 1.0, #17), "American Dad" (2.94 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.3, #14) and another "The Simpsons" (4.66 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11) followed by new episodes of "Bob's Burgers" (4.41 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8), "Family Guy" (6.62 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "The Cleveland Show" (5.46 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.33 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) offered up new episodes of "Dateline NBC" (5.32 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #18), "America's Next Great Restaurant" (3.93 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.2, #15) and "The Celebrity Apprentice" (8.04 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3).

And finally, a repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13) led into a new "Secret Millionaire" (10.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7), the season premiere of "Shark Tank" (6.25 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #12) and the season finale of "Detroit 187" (4.72 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #16) on ABC (6.97 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): 60 Minutes (29.40%), Bob's Burgers (10.00% vs. 3/6/11), Family Guy (9.70%), The Cleveland Show (8.00%), The Amazing Race 17 (3.80%), The Celebrity Apprentice (3.70%), Undercover Boss (0.00%), CSI: Miami (-7.40%), Secret Millionaire (-11.10%), America's Next Great Restaurant (-14.30%), Detroit 187 (-15.40% vs. 3/15/11), Dateline NBC (-18.20%).

Source: Nielsen Media Research