nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 23, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (6.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) held off the competition on Thursday with rebroadcasts of the "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (6.19 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3) holiday special and the "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (6.56 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) feature film.

CBS (8.04 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.37 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2), "Bleep My Dad Says" (6.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7) and "The Mentalist" (8.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #6).

Next up was FOX (4.86 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) with new episodes of "Million Dollar Money Drop" (4.54 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8) and another "Million Dollar Money Drop" (5.20 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.52 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) had its own repeat mix of "Community" (2.39 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14), "30 Rock" (2.64 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "The Office" (2.79 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), "Outsourced" (2.39 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), another "The Office" (2.39 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11) and yet another "The Office" (2.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.10 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "Nikita" (1.40 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.25 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

In late-night metered market ratings, CBS's "Letterman" (3.3/7) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (3.0/7)and ABC's "Nightline" (3.1/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/4) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.8/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.5/4) and "Daly" (0.9/3) on NBC.

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/24/09):

NBC (5.31 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) claimed top adults 18-49 honors on Thursday with its annual rebroadcast of "It's a Wonderful Life" (5.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2).

CBS (6.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then had to settle for the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "CSI: NY" (5.18 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T4), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) and "The Mentalist" (8.18 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1).

Next up was FOX (3.34 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with repeats of "Bones" (3.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T4) and "Fringe" (2.44 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) likewise offered up its all-repeat mix of "Disney's Prep & Landing" (3.33 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6), "The Middle" (2.72 million viewers, #89; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7), "Modern Family" (3.36 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7), "Cougar Town" (2.67 million viewers, #T; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7) and "Grey's Anatomy" (2.18 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.96 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) and "Supernatural" (0.95 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) on The CW (1.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) wrapped up the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research