nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, december 16, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for CBS, FOX and NBC are approximate. Network prime was interrupted in the 8:30-9:00p time period by President Obama's speech from Newtown, Conn.]

NBC (16.69 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.2, #1) was the top demo draw on Sunday with its usual mix of "Football Night in America #1" (7.98 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.6, #7), "Football Night in America #2" (9.14 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #T5), "Football Night in America #3" (15.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 5.7, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (20.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.6, #2).

CBS (16.96 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #2) however was the most-watched network with a full hour of "NFL Overrun" (27.80 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.5, #1), a new "60 Minutes" (17.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.6, #4) and the two-hour season finale of "Survivor: Philippines" (11.12 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.2, #T5).

Next up was FOX (3.38 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with a repeat of "The Cleveland Show" (3.15 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #14) followed by originals from "The Cleveland Show" (3.02 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12), "The Simpsons" (4.41 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #8), "FOX News Special" (2.79 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T15) and "Bob's Burgers" (3.25 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T9) plus repeats of "Family Guy" (3.32 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T9) and "American Dad" (3.75 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11).

And finally, ABC (4.19 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.31 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12) and "Winter Wipeout" (3.74 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T15) plus the new special "The Bachelorette: Ashley and J.P.'s Wedding" (3.35 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #17).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+142.11% - 60 Minutes
+14.29% - Survivor: Philippines (vs. 12/12/12)
+10.14% - Sunday Night Football
-12.50% - The Cleveland Show (vs. 12/2/12)
-23.81% - Bob's Burgers
-44.12% - The Simpsons

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+46.15% - Sunday Night Football (vs. Sunday Night Football)
+6.67% - Bob's Burgers (vs. Allen Gregory)
+4.55% - 60 Minutes
-6.67% - The Cleveland Show (vs. The Cleveland Show (Repeat))
-13.64% - The Simpsons (vs. The Simpsons (Repeat))
-20.00% - Survivor: Philippines
-30.77% - The Bachelorette: Ashley and J.P.'s Wedding (vs. The Santa Clause 3)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/18/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to NFL Overrun in 14% of the country, Fast Nationals for FOX are approximate from 7-730p. Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for NBC are approximate. Due to NFL Overrun in most of the country, Fast Nationals for CBS are approximate on the night. 60 Minutes began at 7:33p with prime sliding.]

CBS (15.87 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) claimed top honors on Sunday with its mix of a powerful "NFL Overrun" (26.86 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.0, #1) followed by "60 Minutes" (18.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.4, #3), the two-hour "Survivor: South Pacific" (13.06 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.0, #4) finale and the "Survivor: South Pacific Reunion" (10.25 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6) special.

NBC (11.77 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.3, #2) then had to settle for second place with its usual lineup of "Football Night in America #1" (6.00 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11), "Football Night in America #2" (8.84 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.1, #7), "Football Night in America #3" (10.36 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #5) and of course "Sunday Night Football" (13.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.2, #2).

Next up was ABC (4.78 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.52 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12), "Once Upon a Time" (4.42 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #17) and the feature "The Santa Clause 3" (4.09 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #16).

And finally, repeats of "American Dad" (4.25 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12), "The Cleveland Show" (3.66 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12) and "The Simpsons" (5.01 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8) lead into the season finale of "Allen Gregory" (3.32 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12) followed by repeats of "Family Guy" (4.35 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10) and another "Family Guy" (4.64 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #9) on FOX (4.21 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+18.92% - 60 Minutes
-37.50% - Allen Gregory (vs. 12/4/11)
-38.82% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+7.32% - 60 Minutes
-2.44% - Survivor: South Pacific
-8.57% - Survivor: South Pacific Reunion
-21.05% - Allen Gregory (vs. The Cleveland Show (Repeat))
-38.82% - Sunday Night Football

Source: Nielsen Media Research