nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, december 29, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (2.69 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the top demo draw on Saturday with repeats of "Cops" (3.14 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and another "Cops" (3.48 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) plus the return of "The Mob Doctor" (2.07 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

ABC (2.60 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then snagged the silver with a rebroadcast of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2.60 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5).

Next up was CBS (3.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) with originals from "Made in Jersey" (2.94 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T9) and another "Made in Jersey" (2.81 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T9) plus a repeat of "48 Hours" (4.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2).

And finally, encores of "Chicago Fire" (2.56 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7), another "Chicago Fire" (3.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) closed out the night on NBC (3.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

* An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Anne Hathaway and musical guest Rihanna (3.5/9 in metered-market households) dominated its time period. The "SNL" rebroadcast scored the #1 rating of the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in metered-market households, topping all primetime telecasts on those networks.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, last night's "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 1.7 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49. The "SNL" encore delivered the top rating of the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the Local People Meters, out-rating all primetime programming on those networks.

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/31/11):

ABC (9.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) dominated the competition on the final night of 2011 with "New Year's Rockin' Eve: The 40th Anniversary Party" (8.29 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) followed by "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012" (12.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1).

A distant silver then went to CBS (2.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with repeats of "How I Met Your Mother" (1.90 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and the feature "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2.93 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

Next up was NBC (2.30 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with encores of "Grimm" (2.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), another "Grimm" (1.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and the primetime portion of "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" (3.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3).

And finally, a full night of "Terra Nova" (1.59 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) repeats on FOX (1.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the night.

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

From 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" averaged a 4.3 household rating, 10 share in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen. Other Friday late-night averages included: Fox's "American Country New Year's Eve," 2.0/4 in metered-market households from 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012" on ABC, 10.7/26 from 11:30 p.m.-1:15 a.m.

In the 25 markets with local People Meters, "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" delivered a 2.6 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49, versus a 1.2/4 for Fox's "American Country New Year's Eve" and 7.7/30 for ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012."

An encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Jason Segel with musical guest Florence + the Machine, delayed to a 12:30 a.m. ET start time, averaged a 2.3/7 in metered-market households. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, the "Saturday Night Live" encore averaged a 1.4 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49.

Source: Nielsen Media Research