nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, december 28, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (5.44 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) took home top honors on Friday with repeats of "Go On" (2.95 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #9) and another "Go On" (2.40 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10) plus a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (6.83 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1).

ABC (5.33 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then snagged the silver with a repeat of "Shark Tank" (5.41 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) alongside part two of "Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour" (5.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T4).

Next up was CBS (4.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with its marathon lineup of "Undercover Boss" (5.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3), another "Undercover Boss" (4.41 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T4) and yet another "Undercover Boss" (3.79 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.35 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up encores of "DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury" (2.89 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6), "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" (2.68 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6) and "Kitchen Nightmares" (1.90 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "Nikita" (1.00 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12) and "Arrow" (1.11 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12) on The CW (1.06 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Nikita" delivered a 0.1 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Arrow" a 0.1 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+112.50% - Dateline NBC
-9.09% - Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+88.89% - Dateline NBC (vs. Grimm (Repeat)/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour (vs. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

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

TBA

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/30/11):

CBS (6.77 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1) was the top draw on Friday with its all-repeat lineup of "A Gifted Man" (6.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6), "CSI: NY" (7.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T1) and "Blue Bloods" (6.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T4).

Sharing the demo crown was ABC (3.77 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1) with the feature "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (3.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T4).

Next up was NBC (3.71 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with a new "Chuck" (3.18 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #7) followed by a repeat of "Grimm" (2.70 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8) and a new "Dateline NBC" (5.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T1).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.06 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up repeats of "Kitchen Nightmares" (2.80 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and "Fringe" (1.32 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9).

And finally, a full night of "The Secret Circle" (0.79 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #10) repeats on The CW (0.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closedo ut the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-7.69% - Dateline NBC (vs. 12/16/11)
-20.00% - Chuck

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. NBC's New Year's Eve With Carson Daly)
-20.00% - Chuck (vs. Minute to Win It (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," 2.5/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.6/6; 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," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/1 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research