nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, december 31, 2011)

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

ABC (9.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) dominated the competition on the final night of 2011 with "New Year's Rockin' Eve: The 40th Anniversary Party" (8.29 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) followed by "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012" (12.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1).

A distant silver then went to CBS (2.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with repeats of "How I Met Your Mother" (1.90 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and the feature "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2.93 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

Next up was NBC (2.30 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with encores of "Grimm" (2.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), another "Grimm" (1.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and the primetime portion of "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" (3.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3).

And finally, a full night of "Terra Nova" (1.59 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) repeats on FOX (1.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the night.

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

From 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" averaged a 4.3 household rating, 10 share in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen. Other Friday late-night averages included: Fox's "American Country New Year's Eve," 2.0/4 in metered-market households from 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012" on ABC, 10.7/26 from 11:30 p.m.-1:15 a.m.

In the 25 markets with local People Meters, "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" delivered a 2.6 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49, versus a 1.2/4 for Fox's "American Country New Year's Eve" and 7.7/30 for ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012."

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Jason Segel with musical guest Florence + the Machine, delayed to a 12:30 a.m. ET start time, averaged a 2.3/7 in metered-market households. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, the "Saturday Night Live" encore averaged a 1.4 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49.

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

Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/1/11):

Delayed coverage of the "NHL Winter Classic" (4.56 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was enough to put NBC (4.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) on top on the first night of 2011.

FOX (4.77 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then had to settle for the silver with its mainstays "Cops" (4.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.82 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2).

Next up was CBS (6.14 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with repeats of "CSI: Miami" (5.49 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7), "48 Hours Mystery" (5.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) and another "48 Hours Mystery" (7.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4).

And finally, encores of "V" (3.07 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #9), another "V" (3.09 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7) and yet another "V" (3.27 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #6) on ABC (3.14 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) closed out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research