nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, january 3, 2011)

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

CBS (11.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1) was the network to beat on the first Monday of 2011 with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.37 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (9.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #4), "Two and a Half Men" (15.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.6, #1), "Mike & Molly" (12.59 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) and "Hawaii Five-0" (10.84 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T5).

ABC (9.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then took home the silver with the return of "The Bachelor" (9.00 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T5) followed by a new "Castle" (9.61 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7).

Next up was FOX (4.33 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with repeats of "House" (4.77 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8) and "Lie to Me" (3.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.68 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) offered up repeats of "Chuck" (2.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11) and "The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?" (2.76 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10).

And finally, The CW (0.93 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) did the same with "90210" (1.11 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "Gossip Girl" (0.76 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13).Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Castle (9.10% vs. 12/6/10), How I Met Your Mother (5.40% vs. 12/13/10), Two and a Half Men (4.50% vs. 12/13/10), Rules of Engagement (3.00% vs. 12/13/10), Mike & Molly (0.00% vs. 12/13/10), Hawaii Five-0 (0.00% vs. 12/13/10).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.2/7) took top honors over CBS's "Letterman" (2.8/7) and NBC's "Leno" (2.6/6). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/4/10):

Coverage of the "Tostitos Fiesta Bowl" (12.85 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) not surprisingly put FOX (12.85 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) in the top spot on Monday.

The silver then went to ABC (8.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) with the launch of "The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" (9.54 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3) followed by the special "Conveyor Belt of Love" (6.53 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.7, #5).

Next up was CBS (9.41 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with its all-repeat mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.97 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7), "Accidentally on Purpose" (6.66 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T9), "Two and a Half Men" (11.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4), "The Big Bang Theory" (10.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (10.08 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.88 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) offered up the return of "Heroes" (5.30 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7) followed by a second hour of "Heroes" (4.57 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T9) and a new "The Jay Leno Show" (4.78 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #11).

And finally, repeats of "One Tree Hill" (1.29 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "Gossip Girl" (0.73 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) on The CW (1.01 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research