nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, march 6, 2011)

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

ABC (9.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) rose to the top spot on Sunday among adults 18-49 with a new "America's Funniest Home Videos" (7.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.8, #12) followed by the return of "Secret Millionaire" (12.61 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) and new episodes of "Desperate Housewives" (11.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "Brothers & Sisters" (7.50 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #11).

CBS (10.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then took home the silver with its mix of "60 Minutes" (12.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T13), "The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business" (9.76 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T5), "Undercover Boss" (10.92 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T5) and "CSI: Miami" (10.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #8).

Next up was FOX (5.01 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) with repeats of "The Simpsons" (3.89 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T13) and "American Dad" (3.89 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T13) followed by new episodes of "The Simpsons" (6.20 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4), "Bob's Burgers" (4.94 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T9), "Family Guy" (6.32 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 3.1, #3) and "The Cleveland Show" (4.82 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T9).

And finally, a new "Dateline NBC" (5.31 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #17) led into the premiere of "America's Next Great Restaurant" (4.57 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.6, #16) and the return of "The Celebrity Apprentice" (7.89 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T5) on NBC (6.42 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4). A year ago, "Apprentice" returned to slightly stronger numbers (8.26 million viewers; adults 18-49: 3.2 on 3/14/10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Dateline NBC (75.00%), 60 Minutes (41.70%), The Amazing Race 17 (28.60%), CSI: Miami (20.00%), Brothers & Sisters (10.00% vs. 2/20/11), Desperate Housewives (9.70% vs. 2/20/11), Bob's Burgers (4.50% vs. 2/20/11), Undercover Boss (3.80% vs. 2/20/11), The Simpsons (0.00% vs. 2/20/11), America's Funniest Home Videos (-5.30% vs. 2/20/11), Family Guy (-6.10% vs. 2/20/11), The Cleveland Show (-11.50% vs. 2/20/11).

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/7/10):

ABC (33.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.2, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday thanks to its coverage of "The 82nd Annual Academy Awards" (39.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.5, #1). Leading into the broadcast were the network's "Barbara Walters Special" (20.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.4, #3) and "Oscar Red Carpet Special" (31.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 8.9, #2).

A distant silver then went to FOX (4.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) with its mix of "'Til Death" (2.33 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15), another "'Til Death" (2.77 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T12), "The Simpsons" (4.68 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9), another "The Simpsons" (4.98 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.2, #7), "Family Guy" (5.59 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #5) and another "Family Guy" (5.53 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4).

Next up was CBS (6.37 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with new episodes of "60 Minutes" (5.58 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) and "The Amazing Race 16" (8.05 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #6) followed by repeats of "Undercover Boss" (6.49 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #8) and "Cold Case" (5.35 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #10).

And finally, repeats of "Dateline NBC" (5.75 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11) and "Bad Boys II" (3.00 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T12) on NBC (4.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research