nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 6, 2012)

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

CBS (13.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) took home top honors on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (17.41 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.3, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (14.22 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2), "Person of Interest" (14.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) and "Elementary" (10.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

FOX (6.59 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then snagged the silver with originals from "The X Factor" (7.72 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6) and "Glee" (5.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8).

Next up was ABC (7.26 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) and its lineup of "Last Resort" (5.47 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T11), "Grey's Anatomy" (8.93 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4) and "Scandal" (7.39 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #5).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up its combination of "30 Rock" (3.33 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13), "Up All Night" (2.94 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T11), "The Office" (4.18 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8), "Parks & Recreation" (3.28 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.58 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.40 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13) and "Beauty and the Beast" (1.41 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) on The CW (1.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 1.8 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.7 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Last Resort
+13.64% - Scandal
+11.11% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+10.53% - The Office
+10.34% - Person of Interest
+7.14% - Parks & Recreation
+4.55% - Elementary
+2.44% - Two and a Half Men
0.00% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Up All Night
-1.85% - The Big Bang Theory
-4.55% - Glee
-11.11% - The X Factor
-15.38% - 30 Rock
-26.67% - The Vampire Diaries
-37.50% - Beauty and the Beast

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+175.00% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
+78.57% - Scandal (vs. The Great American Auction)
+66.67% - Beauty and the Beast (vs. The Secret Circle (Repeat))
+57.89% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. America's Funniest Home Videos: Christmas Spectacular)
+31.25% - Two and a Half Men (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+12.77% - The Big Bang Theory
+6.67% - Person of Interest
-20.00% - The X Factor
-21.05% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Whitney)
-22.22% - Glee (vs. Bones)
-23.33% - Elementary (vs. The Mentalist)
-26.67% - 30 Rock (vs. Community)
-27.59% - The Office
-29.41% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation)
-36.84% - Last Resort (vs. Winter Wipeout)
-37.50% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Grimm)

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5 with an encore.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

* At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/8/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for FOX and CBS are approximate on the night.]

CBS (13.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) claimed top honors on Thursday with the fall finale of "The Big Bang Theory" (14.42 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) followed by new episodes of "Rules of Engagement" (10.96 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2), "Person of Interest" (13.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3) and "The Mentalist" (13.75 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3).

FOX (9.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then took home the silver with new episodes of "The X Factor" (9.94 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3) and "Bones" (9.01 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

Next up was NBC (4.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with its mix of "Community" (3.62 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13), "Parks & Recreation" (3.66 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11), "The Office" (5.80 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6), "Whitney" (4.14 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8) and a special "Grimm" (4.10 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12).

Meanwhile, ABC (5.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) didn't get much spark from its specials "Winter Wipeout" (6.63 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8), "America's Funniest Home Videos: Christmas Spectacular" (6.49 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T8) and "The Great American Auction" (4.78 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T14).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.25 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) and "The Secret Circle" (0.87 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.06 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.6 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - The Mentalist (vs. 11/17/11)
+15.38% - Person of Interest (vs. 11/17/11)
0.00% - The Office
0.00% - Whitney
-3.23% - The X Factor
-3.57% - Bones
-5.56% - Parks & Recreation
-9.62% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 11/17/11)
-11.11% - Rules of Engagement (vs. 11/17/11)
-11.76% - Community

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+42.11% - Bones (vs. Fringe)
+30.43% - The X Factor (vs. Bones)
+25.00% - The Mentalist
+23.68% - The Big Bang Theory
+18.52% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
0.00% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-2.56% - Winter Wipeout (vs. Shrek the Halls/Disney Prep & Landing)
-11.11% - Grimm (vs. The Apprentice)
-22.73% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
-23.68% - The Office
-25.00% - Community
-34.48% - America's Funniest Home Videos: Christmas Spectacular (vs. Barbara Walters Special: Oprah, The Next Chapter)
-50.00% - Whitney (vs. The Office)
-56.25% - The Great American Auction (vs. Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2010)

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.1/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.9/4; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research