nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, january 6, 2011)

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

ABC (10.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1) took home top honors on Thursday with the season premiere of "Wipeout" (11.59 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) followed by new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (11.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.78 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #7).

CBS (13.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) nevertheless was the most-watched network with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (14.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (10.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.22 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4) and "The Mentalist" (14.81 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5).

Next up was NBC (2.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) with its all-repeat mix of "Community" (3.04 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13), "30 Rock" (3.19 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), "The Office" (3.98 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #8), "Outsourced" (3.16 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), another "The Office" (2.19 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13) and yet another "The Office" (2.30 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) offered up a new "Million Dollar Money Drop" (4.61 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9) alongside a repeat of "Bones" (3.36 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.42 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T16) and "Nikita" (1.40 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T16) on The CW (1.41 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Mentalist (25.00% vs. 12/9/10), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (10.00% vs. 12/9/10), The Big Bang Theory (7.30% vs. 12/16/10), Grey's Anatomy (5.00% vs. 12/2/10), Bleep My Dad Says (-3.30% vs. 12/16/10), Private Practice (-3.40% vs. 12/2/10).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.6/8) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.6/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.1/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.7/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.6/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/7/10):

ABC (29.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.7, #1) and its coverage of the "BCS Championship: Texas vs. Alabama" (30.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.2, #1) flattened the competition on Thursday. Kicking off the night was a half-hour "BCS Championship Pre-Game" (21.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.4, #2).

The silver then went to CBS (9.90 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) with its all-repeat lineup of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (9.40 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5), another "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (10.41 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) and "The Mentalist" (10.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4).

Next up was NBC (3.85 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with is mix of "Community" (4.51 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6), "Parks & Recreation" (3.21 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11), "The Office" (3.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6), "30 Rock" (3.77 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.58 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #10).

Meanwhile, FOX (4.54 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up second runs of "Bones" (5.98 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6) and "Fringe" (3.10 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12).

And finally, yes, more repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.78 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13) and "Supernatural" (1.53 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14) on The CW (1.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research