nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, december 23, 2012)

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

NBC (13.67 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.6, #1) overshadowed its holiday competition with its usual mix of "Football Night in America #1" (8.13 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T6), "Football Night in America #2" (10.38 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #5), "Football Night in America #3" (13.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.6, #3) and of course "Sunday Night Football" (15.38 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.3, #2).

FOX (7.71 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) then snagged the silver with its lineup of "NFL Overrun" (16.25 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1) and "The OT" (10.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #4), repeats of "The Simpsons" (5.55 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8) and "Bob's Burgers" (4.88 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) plus originals from "Family Guy" (5.39 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T6) and "American Dad" (4.14 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10).

Next up was ABC (5.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with its annual rebroadcast of "The Sound of Music" (5.23 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12).

And finally, CBS (6.40 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) closed out the night with its second run combination of "60 Minutes" (8.88 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11), "Blue Bloods" (6.27 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T14), "The Good Wife" (5.03 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T14) and "The Mentalist" (5.44 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-10.71% - Family Guy (vs. 12/9/12)
-13.64% - American Dad (vs. 12/9/12)
-30.26% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+150.00% - Family Guy (vs. Family Guy (Repeat))
+90.00% - American Dad (vs. American Dad (Repeat))
-22.06% - Sunday Night Football

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/25/11):

NBC (17.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.5, #1) was the network to beat on Christmas evening with its usual mix of "Football Night in America #1" (8.44 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5), "Football Night in America #2" (9.66 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4), "Football Night in America #3" (16.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.2, #2) and "Sunday Night Football" (21.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1).

ABC (4.76 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then took home the silver with its mix of "NBA Overrun" (8.53 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3), the animated "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (4.29 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6) and the feature "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (3.34 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #7).

Next up was CBS (5.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) and its combination of "60 Minutes" (6.40 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (5.22 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14), "The Good Wife" (4.22 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15) and "CSI: Miami" (5.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "Bob's Burgers" (1.10 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.3, #17), "The Cleveland Show" (1.26 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16), "The Simpsons" (1.96 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), another "The Cleveland Show" (2.02 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "Family Guy" (2.33 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) and "American Dad" (2.23 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) on FOX (1.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+30.77% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+423.08% - Sunday Night Football (vs. Minute to Win It (Repeat)/Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))

Source: Nielsen Media Research