nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 22, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for The CW are inflated.]

FOX (12.45 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with a new "The X Factor" (11.52 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2) followed by the season finale of "The X Factor" (13.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1). Said numbers marked FOX's most watched entertainment telecast since premiere week and the show's highest-rated Thursday telecast since 10/6/11.

A distant silver then went to CBS (8.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (6.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4), "Person of Interest" (7.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5) and "The Mentalist" (8.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6).

Next up was NBC (3.91 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its mix of "Who's Still Standing?" (5.23 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6), "The Office" (2.23 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12), "Whitney" (1.92 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #13) and "Prime Suspect" (4.42 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up encores of "Prep & Landing" (3.85 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8), "Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice" (3.67 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8), "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" (3.63 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) and "Grey's Anatomy" (2.49 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.43 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "The Secret Circle" (1.42 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.6 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.5 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - The X Factor - 8:00
+25.00% - Prime Suspect

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+176.92% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
+135.29% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
+100.00% - Who's Still Standing? (vs. Community (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))
+5.26% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Office (Repeat)/The Office (Repeat))

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," 2.7/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 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" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 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 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/23/10):

ABC (6.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) held off the competition on Thursday with rebroadcasts of the "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (6.19 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3) holiday special and the "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (6.56 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) feature film.

CBS (8.04 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.37 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2), "Bleep My Dad Says" (6.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7) and "The Mentalist" (8.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #6).

Next up was FOX (4.86 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) with new episodes of "Million Dollar Money Drop" (4.54 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8) and another "Million Dollar Money Drop" (5.20 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.52 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) had its own repeat mix of "Community" (2.39 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14), "30 Rock" (2.64 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "The Office" (2.79 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), "Outsourced" (2.39 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), another "The Office" (2.39 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11) and yet another "The Office" (2.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.10 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "Nikita" (1.40 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.25 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

In late-night metered market ratings, CBS's "Letterman" (3.3/7) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (3.0/7)and ABC's "Nightline" (3.1/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/4) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.8/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.5/4) and "Daly" (0.9/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research