nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, december 17, 2012)

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

CBS (9.81 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) topped the charts for the second Monday in a row with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.49 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T4), a second "How I Met Your Mother" (8.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T2), "2 Broke Girls" (10.16 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T2), "Mike & Molly" (10.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (10.29 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6).

NBC (9.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) once again had to settle for second place with the penultimate installment of "The Voice" (13.23 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) followed by a sneak preview of "1600 Penn" (7.19 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7) and the season finale of "Take It All" (4.51 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8).

Next up was FOX (3.31 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with its holiday lineup of "DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury" (3.90 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8), "Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas" (4.02 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8) and "Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown" (2.66 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.84 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up a new "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.24 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13) and a second "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11) plus a repeat of "Castle" (5.40 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12).

And finally, a "Gossip Girl" (1.33 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16) recap special and the series finale of "Gossip Girl" (1.51 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) on The CW (1.42 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Gossip Girl" delivered a 1.3 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 1.8 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Gossip Girl
+7.89% - The Voice
0.00% - How I Met Your Mother
-11.11% - Hawaii Five-0
-12.50% - 2 Broke Girls
-15.38% - Mike & Molly
-20.00% - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - 9:00
-23.08% - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - 8:00
-31.82% - Take It All

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+166.67% - Gossip Girl - 9:00 (vs. Hart of Dixie (Repeat))
+127.78% - The Voice (vs. Who's Still Standing?/Fear Factor)
+100.00% - Gossip Girl - 8:00 (vs. Hart of Dixie (Repeat))
+50.00% - Mike & Molly (vs. Mike & Molly (Repeat))
+43.48% - How I Met Your Mother - 8:00 (vs. How I Met Your Mother (Repeat))
+40.00% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. Two and a Half Men (Repeat))
+33.33% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
+29.63% - How I Met Your Mother - 8:30 (vs. 2 Broke Girls (Repeat))
+25.00% - Take It All (vs. Rock Center With Brian Williams)
+9.09% - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - 9:00 (vs. You Deserve It)
-4.17% - 1600 Penn (vs. Fear Factor)
-25.93% - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - 8:00 (vs. Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special/A Chipmunk Christmas)
-28.57% - DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury (vs. Terra Nova)

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

* At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/19/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for ABC are inflated on the night and for CBS from 8-930p.]

CBS (7.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) claimed top honors on Monday with its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.81 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4), "2 Broke Girls" (7.74 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (8.46 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2), "Mike & Molly" (7.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T5) and "Hawaii Five-0" (6.90 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #8).

Sharing the demo crown however was FOX (7.18 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) with a new "Terra Nova" (7.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #7) followed by the season finale of "Terra Nova" (7.12 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T5).

Next up was NBC (5.38 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with the launch of "Who's Still Standing?" (5.56 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #9) alongside new episodes of "Fear Factor" (6.28 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (4.31 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its mix of "Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special" (4.76 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11), "A Chipmunk Christmas" (5.00 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #10), "You Deserve It" (4.15 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and a repeat of "Castle" (4.60 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14).

And finally, repeats of "Hart of Dixie" (1.36 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) and "Hart of Dixie" (1.05 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) on The CW (1.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Dixie" posted a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+22.22% - You Deserve It
+9.09% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
0.00% - Terra Nova
-31.43% - Fear Factor

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+10.53% - Terra Nova - 8:00 (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
+10.00% - Terra Nova - 9:00 (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
+4.35% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Perfect Couples/The Office (Repeat))
-8.33% - You Deserve It (vs. Castle (Repeat))
-11.11% - Fear Factor (vs. The Sing-Off)
-44.44% - Who's Still Standing? (vs. The Sing-Off)

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.5/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/3 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/2; "Nightline," 0.9/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research