nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 13, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (13.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with the fall finales of "The Big Bang Theory" (16.77 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.4, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (13.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2), "Person of Interest" (14.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4) and "Elementary" (10.63 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

ABC (7.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then took home the silver with its original mix of "Last Resort" (5.50 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9), "Grey's Anatomy" (8.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.1, #3) and "Scandal" (7.80 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #5).

Next up was FOX (6.46 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with the penultimate "The X Factor" (7.66 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6) results show followed by the fall finale of "Glee" (5.26 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.36 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) was out of the hunt with a new "Up All Night" (2.85 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13) followed by the single-camera finale of "Up All Night" (2.65 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12), night four of "Take It All" (3.90 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9) and a new "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.43 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13).

And finally, The CW (2.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) closed out the evening with the final 2012 originals from "The Vampire Diaries" (2.74 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9) and "Beauty and the Beast" (1.61 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15). 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% - Beauty and the Beast
+9.09% - The Vampire Diaries
+8.00% - Scandal
+3.33% - Grey's Anatomy
+1.89% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - Two and a Half Men
0.00% - The X Factor
0.00% - Elementary
0.00% - Last Resort
-4.76% - Glee
-6.25% - Person of Interest
-8.33% - Up All Night
-10.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+300.00% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
+106.67% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. The Year With Katie Couric)
+100.00% - Beauty and the Beast (vs. The Secret Circle (Repeat))
+92.86% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. The Big Bang Theory (Repeat))
+80.00% - Scandal (vs. The Year With Katie Couric)
+57.14% - Up All Night - 8:30 (vs. Parks & Recreation (Repeat))
+55.56% - Two and a Half Men (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+33.33% - Glee (vs. Bones (Repeat))
+26.32% - Take It All (vs. The Office (Repeat)/Whitney (Repeat))
+12.50% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Prime Suspect)
+12.50% - Up All Night - 8:00 (vs. Community (Repeat))
+7.14% - Person of Interest
-14.29% - The X Factor
-14.81% - Elementary (vs. The Mentalist)
-33.33% - Last Resort (vs. A Charlie Brown Christmas)

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," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.8/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.4/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.8/4.

* At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/15/11):

CBS (11.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) was Thursday's top draw thanks to a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (10.15 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T1) followed by new episodes of "Rules of Engagement" (9.71 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4), "Person of Interest" (12.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T1) and "The Mentalist" (12.98 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4).

FOX (7.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then had to settle for second place with a new "The X Factor" (9.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T1) and a repeat of "Bones" (5.42 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T7).

Next up was ABC (5.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with an encore of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (6.41 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) alongside the two-hour special "The Year With Katie Couric" (5.52 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.63 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) served up repeats of "Community" (2.32 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10), "Parks & Recreation" (1.79 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13), "The Office" (2.39 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9), "Whitney" (2.07 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10) and a new "Prime Suspect" (3.62 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.02 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) and "The Secret Circle" (0.87 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) on The CW (0.95 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.5 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-6.67% - Person of Interest
-6.67% - The X Factor
-10.00% - The Mentalist
-15.63% - Rules of Engagement
-38.46% - Prime Suspect (vs. 12/1/11)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
133.33% - The X Factor (vs. Bones (Repeat))
50.00% - The Mentalist (vs. The Mentalist (Repeat))
47.37% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Repeat))
-10.00% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
-36.00% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Office (Repeat))

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," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.0/8; 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," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households with an encore) tied CBS's first-run "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 with an encore) 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research