nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, december 25, 2010)

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

ABC (6.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) was Christmas Day's top draw with its presentation of "Transformers" (6.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1).

Next up was CBS (5.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) with repeats of "Jesse Stone: No Remorse" (5.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (4.35 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.83 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) offered up an encore of "TV's Funniest Holiday Moments: A Paley Center for Media Special" (2.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

And finally, repeats of "Community" (1.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "30 Rock" (1.46 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (2.62 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) on NBC (2.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) rounded out the evening.

And in late-night, a repeat of "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.4 household rating, 9 share in the metered markets.

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/26/09):

FOX (4.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its usual mix of "Cops" (4.72 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3), another "Cops" (5.08 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1).

The silver then went to ABC (4.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) with repeats of "Shrek 2" (4.55 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) and "Castle" (3.54 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7).

Next up was CBS (4.05 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with its own repeats of "Medium" (2.63 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10), "48 Hours Mystery" (4.04 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7) and a second "48 Hours Mystery" (5.49 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5).

And finally, repeats of "Mercy" (2.45 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #11), "Law & Order" (3.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #6) on NBC (3.64 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research