nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 20, 2012)

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

FOX (9.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) was Thursday's top draw with its mix of "The X Factor" (8.95 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T2) and a second hour of "The X Factor" (10.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) finale.

CBS (8.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (10.92 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T2), "Two and a Half Men" (8.73 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4), "Person of Interest" (9.38 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5) and "Elementary" (6.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9).

Next up was ABC (6.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with a rebroadcast of "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" (5.12 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8) followed by the new two-hour special "CMA Country Christmas" (7.28 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.85 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its mix of "A White House Christmas: First Families Remember" (8.46 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), "The Office" (3.11 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10), "Parks & Recreation" (2.10 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.50 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.98 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T13) and "Beauty and the Beast" (0.88 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T13) on The CW (0.93 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.5 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - The X Factor -11.11% - Rock Center With Brian Williams

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - CMA Country Christmas (vs. I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown/Grey's Anatomy (Repeat)) +6.67% - A White House Christmas: First Families Remember (vs. Who's Still Standing?) -17.50% - The X Factor - 9:00 -20.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Prime Suspect) -22.22% - The X Factor - 8:00

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

* "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" delivered its highest Thursday rating in metered-market households (a 3.0 rating, 7 share) since November 22 (3.1/9), the night of a high-rated NFL overrun. Jay's guests last night included Katherine Heigl, Marjorie Johnson and musical guest Johnny Mathis.

* At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.8/6 in metered-market households) earned its highest Thursday rating since February 2 (1.8/6 for an episode from Indianapolis with guests Taylor Lautner, Adam Levine, Drew Brees and musical guest Nas) and matched its highest Thursday result since June 4, 2009 (1.9/6 during the first week of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien"). Jimmy's guests last night included Billy Crystal, Tyson Chandler and musical guest Cee Lo Green, who sat in with The Roots. "Late Night" also featured an appearance by Jerry Seinfeld.

* At 1:35 a.m. ET, "Last Call With Carson Daly" (1.0/4 in metered-market households) scored its top Thursday rating since November 22 (1.0/4).

* In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.0/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.8/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4 with an encore.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

* At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.8/6 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.5/4 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 (12/22/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for The CW are inflated.]

FOX (12.45 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with a new "The X Factor" (11.52 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2) followed by the season finale of "The X Factor" (13.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1). Said numbers marked FOX's most watched entertainment telecast since premiere week and the show's highest-rated Thursday telecast since 10/6/11.

A distant silver then went to CBS (8.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (6.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4), "Person of Interest" (7.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5) and "The Mentalist" (8.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6).

Next up was NBC (3.91 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its mix of "Who's Still Standing?" (5.23 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6), "The Office" (2.23 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12), "Whitney" (1.92 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #13) and "Prime Suspect" (4.42 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up encores of "Prep & Landing" (3.85 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8), "Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice" (3.67 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8), "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" (3.63 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) and "Grey's Anatomy" (2.49 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.43 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "The Secret Circle" (1.42 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.6 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.5 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - The X Factor - 8:00
+25.00% - Prime Suspect

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+176.92% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
+135.29% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
+100.00% - Who's Still Standing? (vs. Community (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))
+5.26% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Office (Repeat)/The Office (Repeat))

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," 2.7/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 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," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; 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) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters

Source: Nielsen Media Research