nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, december 24, 2011)

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

NBC (4.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) won the battle of holiday repeats with its annual broadcast of "It's a Wonderful Life" (4.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1).

FOX (3.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then claimed the silver with a full night of "Terra Nova" (3.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2) repeats.

Next up was ABC (3.81 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with its presentation of "The Sound of Music" (3.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4).

And finally, a repeat of "Blue Bloods" (2.40 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) and a two-hour encore of "48 Hours Mystery" (4.41 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2) on CBS (3.74 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) closed out the night.

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

"Saturday Night Live," was preempted on Christmas Eve.

[NOTE: Today's numbers are courtesy of TVMediaInsights.com due to delays from our usual sources.]

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/25/10):

ABC (6.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) was Christmas Day's top draw with its presentation of "Transformers" (6.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1).

Next up was CBS (5.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) with repeats of "Jesse Stone: No Remorse" (5.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (4.35 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.83 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) offered up an encore of "TV's Funniest Holiday Moments: A Paley Center for Media Special" (2.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

And finally, repeats of "Community" (1.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "30 Rock" (1.46 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (2.62 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) on NBC (2.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) rounded out the evening.

And in late-night, a repeat of "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 3.4 household rating, 9 share in the metered markets.

Source: Nielsen Media Research