nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, november 22, 2012)

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

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "The X Factor" began at 8:17pm following the conclusion of NFL and the rest of the night slid.]

NBC (15.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.8, #1) topped the holiday festivities with its mix of "Football Night in America" (10.89 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) and a special Thursday edition of "Sunday Night Football" (16.94 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.2, #1).

FOX (9.40 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then claimed the silver with its combination of (half-hour results only) "NFL Overrun/The X Factor" (17.95 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.0, #2), "The X Factor" (8.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #4), "The X Factor/Glee" (6.89 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5) and "Glee" (4.45 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10).

Next up was CBS (6.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) and its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.11 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T7), "Two and a Half Men" (6.78 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T7), another "The Big Bang Theory" (7.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #6), "2 Broke Girls" (6.14 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) and "Person of Interest" (6.80 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up encores of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (4.05 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12) and "Modern Family" (3.44 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) plus the new special "Michael Jackson: BAD25" (4.56 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.80 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T15) and "Beauty and the Beast" (0.85 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T15) on The CW (0.82 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.2 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

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," 3.1/9 (delayed by an NFL overrun); CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.6/6; 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," 1.4/8 (delayed by an NFL overrun); "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

* At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.7/6 in metered-market households, delayed by an NFL overrun) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.8/5 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2 with an encore).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.2/5 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.5/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/24/11):

CBS (8.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) again was the network to beat on Thursday with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1), "Rules of Engagement" (7.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2), "Person of Interest" (7.97 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5) and "The Mentalist" (7.76 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #9).

FOX (5.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then snagged the silver with its mix of "Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas" (7.07 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3), "Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown" (4.96 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6) and "The Simpsons" (3.42 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6).

Next up was ABC (5.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) and its combination of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (5.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4), "The Middle" (4.25 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10) and "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (5.51 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.69 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up the feature "Horton Hears a Who" (3.69 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) followed by the special "The 85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" (3.69 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.99 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "The Secret Circle" (0.78 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.88 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night.

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," 2.4/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.4/6; 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," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research