nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, january 12, 2012)

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

CBS (14.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) snagged the top spot on Thursday with a new "The Big Bang Theory" (15.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1), the premiere of "Rob" (13.48 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2) and fresh installments of "Person of Interest" (14.73 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4) and "The Mentalist" (13.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6).

Second place then went to ABC (8.14 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) with new episodes of "Winter Wipeout" (7.13 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #9), "Grey's Anatomy" (10.59 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3) and "Private Practice" (6.70 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T7).

Next up was FOX (7.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) with the winter finale of "Bones" (8.63 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T7) and the debut of "The Finder" (5.45 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.7, #13).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.55 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) offered up its new lineup of "30 Rock" (4.57 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #12), "Parks & Recreation" (4.10 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11), "The Office" (5.87 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #5), "Up All Night" (4.28 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10) and "The Firm" (4.24 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.81 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14) and "The Secret Circle" (2.06 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16) on The CW (2.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 1.6 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - Person of Interest (vs. 12/15/11)
+11.76% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 12/8/11)
+11.11% - Up All Night (vs. 12/7/11)
+10.64% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 12/8/11)
0.00% - The Office (vs. 12/8/11)
0.00% - The Mentalist (vs. 12/15/11)
0.00% - The Secret Circle
-11.11% - Bones (vs. 12/8/11)
-14.29% - Private Practice
-14.29% - The Vampire Diaries
-15.56% - Grey's Anatomy
-21.43% - Winter Wipeout
-28.57% - The Firm (vs. 1/8/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
100.00% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
93.33% - The Office (vs. The Office (Repeat))
73.33% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. The Big Bang Theory (Repeat))
63.64% - 30 Rock (vs. Community (Repeat))
60.00% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita (Repeat))
58.33% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Community (Repeat))
52.38% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Repeat))
42.11% - The Mentalist (vs. The Mentalist (Repeat))
41.38% - Rob (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
41.18% - Bones (vs. Million Dollar Money Drop)
30.77% - The Finder (vs. Bones (Repeat))
20.00% - Private Practice (vs. Off the Map (Repeat))
17.65% - Up All Night (vs. The Office (Repeat))
-13.64% - Grey's Anatomy
-16.67% - The Firm (vs. 30 Rock (Repeat))
-38.89% - Winter Wipeout

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.8/3; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

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" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households with an encore 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 (1/13/11):

ABC (9.58 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its mix of "Wipeout" (10.52 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2), "Grey's Anatomy" (12.21 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1) and an encore of "Off the Map" (6.02 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.0, #6).

The silver then went to CBS (10.12 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) with its lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (10.41 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3), a new "Bleep My Dad Says" (10.19 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (9.73 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #5) and "The Mentalist" (10.33 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #7).

Next up was FOX (5.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with a new "Million Dollar Money Drop" (5.65 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T8) followed by a repeat of "Bones" (4.43 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T12).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) was all repeats with its combination of "Community" (2.78 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T15), another "Community" (2.45 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14), "The Office" (3.25 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10), another "The Office" (3.60 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T8), "30 Rock" (2.80 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T12) and another "30 Rock" (2.47 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T15).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.65 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16) and "Nikita" (1.52 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.5, #17) on The CW (1.58 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Million Dollar Money Drop (30.80%), Grey's Anatomy (4.80%), Wipeout (-2.70%).

Source: Nielsen Media Research