nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, january 2, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (11.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) took home top honors on the first Monday of 2012 thanks to new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.22 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.9, #3), "2 Broke Girls" (12.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.3, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (13.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1), "Mike & Molly" (11.93 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (11.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #5).

A silver medal then went to ABC (7.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) with the return of "The Bachelor" (7.74 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T6) followed by the debut of "Celebrity Wife Swap" (6.27 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T6).

Next up was NBC (5.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with its lineup of "Who's Still Standing?" (5.57 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #9), "Fear Factor" (5.90 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T6) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.85 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.76 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up repeats of "House" (3.68 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10) and another "House" (3.83 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10).

And finally, The CW (0.89 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening with repeats of "The Secret Circle" (0.99 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T13) and another "The Secret Circle" (0.79 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T13). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Circle" posted a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+4.88% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. 12/12/11)
+3.57% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. 12/12/11)
0.00% - Fear Factor (vs. 12/19/11)
-2.56% - Mike & Molly (vs. 12/12/11)
-4.35% - Two and a Half Men (vs. 12/12/11)
-11.76% - Who's Still Standing?
-13.33% - How I Met Your Mother (vs. 12/5/11)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+140.00% - Fear Factor (vs. The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? (Repeat))
+114.29% - Who's Still Standing? (vs. Chuck (Repeat))
+26.47% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+20.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? (Repeat))
+2.70% - Mike & Molly
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0
0.00% - How I Met Your Mother
0.00% - Celebrity Wife Swap (vs. Castle)
-4.35% - Two and a Half Men
-17.24% - The Bachelor

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," 2.1/5 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.1/4 in metered-market households with an encore) tied CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/2 in 18-49 with an encore) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/3/11):

CBS (11.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1) was the network to beat on the first Monday of 2011 with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.37 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (9.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #4), "Two and a Half Men" (15.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.6, #1), "Mike & Molly" (12.59 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) and "Hawaii Five-0" (10.84 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T5).

ABC (9.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then took home the silver with the return of "The Bachelor" (9.00 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T5) followed by a new "Castle" (9.61 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7).

Next up was FOX (4.33 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with repeats of "House" (4.77 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8) and "Lie to Me" (3.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.68 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) offered up repeats of "Chuck" (2.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11) and "The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?" (2.76 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10).

And finally, The CW (0.93 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) did the same with "90210" (1.11 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "Gossip Girl" (0.76 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13).Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Castle (9.10% vs. 12/6/10), How I Met Your Mother (5.40% vs. 12/13/10), Two and a Half Men (4.50% vs. 12/13/10), Rules of Engagement (3.00% vs. 12/13/10), Mike & Molly (0.00% vs. 12/13/10), Hawaii Five-0 (0.00% vs. 12/13/10).

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" (2.6/6). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research