nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, january 2, 2013)

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

NBC (6.942 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday as the return of "Whitney" (4.989 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T4), "Guys With Kids" (4.352 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.747 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) and "Chicago Fire" (8.410 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1).

CBS (6.433 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "Mike & Molly" (6.236 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), another "Mike & Molly" (6.674 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7), "Criminal Minds" (6.607 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.238 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9).

Next up was ABC (5.011 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) with encores from "The Middle" (6.630 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T4), "The Neighbors" (4.809 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), "Modern Family" (6.499 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) and "Suburgatory" (4.242 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9) plus the recap special "Nashville: The Whole Story" (3.942 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.962 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up the return of "Mobbed" (3.177 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15) and a second "Mobbed" (2.746 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13).

And finally, repeats of "Arrow" (2.129 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) and "Supernatural" (1.389 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.4, #17) on The CW (1.759 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Arrow" delivered a 0.3 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+31.25% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. 12/5/12)
+28.57% - Whitney (vs. 12/12/12)
+26.32% - Chicago Fire (vs. 12/19/12)
+21.43% - Guys With Kids (vs. 12/5/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+162.50% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Harry's Law (Repeat))
+118.18% - Chicago Fire (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
+80.00% - Whitney (vs. Up All Night (Repeat))
+70.00% - Guys With Kids (vs. Whitney (Repeat))
+25.00% - Mobbed - 8:00 (vs. Glee (Repeat))
-8.33% - Mobbed - 9:00
-56.00% - Nashville: The Whole Story (vs. Revenge)

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," 3.1/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; 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," 0.6/2; "Nightline," 0.9/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 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" (1.0/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2 with an encore).

* 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.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/4/12):

ABC (9.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the top draw on the first Wednesday of 2012 thanks to new episodes of "The Middle" (9.95 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3), "Suburgatory" (8.73 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4), "Modern Family" (13.98 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1), "Happy Endings" (7.73 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) and "Revenge" (7.96 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #5).

The silver then went to CBS (8.20 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) with the return of "I Get That a Lot" (8.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #6) followed by repeats of "Criminal Minds" (8.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #7) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (8.06 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #8).

Next up was NBC (3.84 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3) with repeats of "Up All Night" (3.52 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11), "Whitney" (3.14 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11), "Harry's Law" (4.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.72 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.69 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3) served up an encore of "Glee" (2.35 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) alongside a new "Mobbed" (3.02 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9) special.

And finally, repeats of "The Secret Circle" (0.97 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) and "The Secret Circle" (0.84 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) on The CW (0.90 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out its week-long marathon. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Circle" posted a 0.5 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+130.00% - I Get That a Lot (vs. 12/17/10)
+13.79% - Happy Endings (vs. 12/7/11)
+12.00% - Modern Family (vs. 12/7/11)
+7.14% - The Middle (vs. 12/7/11)
+4.17% - Revenge (vs. 12/7/11)
+3.57% - Suburgatory (vs. 12/7/11)
-25.00% - Mobbed (vs. 11/23/11)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+56.25% - Revenge (vs. Primetime: Celebrity Weight Loss - What Really Happens)
+27.78% - I Get That a Lot (vs. Live to Dance)
+16.67% - Modern Family
+16.00% - Suburgatory (vs. Better With You)
+13.79% - Happy Endings (vs. Cougar Town)
+7.14% - The Middle
-29.41% - Mobbed (vs. Human Target (S))

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," 2.6/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.1/5; 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" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

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