nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, december 20, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (5.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) slipped into the top demo spot on Tuesday thanks to night two of "Who's Still Standing?" (5.83 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) and an encore of "Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas" (5.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T1).

CBS (10.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) however was still the most-watched network despite an all-repeat lineup of "NCIS" (12.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (11.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T1) and "Unforgettable" (8.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5).

Next up was ABC (4.68 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with its repeat mix of "Last Man Standing" (5.72 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7), another "Last Man Standing" (5.51 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), "The Middle" (4.31 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8), "Suburgatory" (3.43 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) and "Body of Proof" (4.54 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #13).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.99 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up repeats of "Glee" (3.28 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9), "New Girl" (2.76 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9) and "Raising Hope" (2.66 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.76 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) and "Ringer" (0.66 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) on The CW (0.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "90210" delivered a 0.4 rating while "Ringer" posted a 0.3 rating.

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-14.29% - Who's Still Standing? (vs. Minute to Win It)

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.0/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.7/6 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.1/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/21/10):

NBC (6.35 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) snagged the adults 18-49 crown with a new "Minute to Win It" (7.00 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T3) followed by a rebroadcast of "SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas" (6.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1).

CBS (10.13 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) however was the most-watched network despite an all-repeat lineup of "NCIS" (12.32 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (11.31 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T3) and "The Good Wife" (6.76 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

Next up was FOX (4.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with a repeat of "Glee" (4.08 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) followed by night two of "Million Dollar Money Drop" (5.51 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #5).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.72 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up the season finale of "Skating With the Stars" (3.42 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) followed by repeats of "No Ordinary Family" (3.14 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) and "Detroit 187" (4.59 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #8).

And finally, repeats of "One Tree Hill" (1.03 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #11) and "Life Unexpected" (0.75 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) on The CW (0.89 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Minute to Win It (-8.70%).

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" (3.0/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.6/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.6/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.4/4) and "Daly" (0.8/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research