nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, february 24, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live programming, Fast Nationals for ABC are approximate.]

ABC (32.434 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.1, #1) was of course the top draw on Sunday with its coverage of "The 85th Annual Academy Awards" (36.967 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.1, #1). Leading into said coverage were the specials "The Oscars Red Carpet Live, Part 1" (19.343 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 5.0, #4), "The Oscars Red Carpet Live, Part 2" (23.833 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.7, #3) and "The Oscars Red Carpet Live, Part 3" (31.462 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 9.2, #2).

FOX (2.872 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then topped the leftovers with repeats of "Bob's Burgers" (2.345 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12), "The Cleveland Show" (2.606 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11), "The Simpsons" (3.506 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), another "The Cleveland Show" (2.934 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8), "Family Guy" (3.133 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7) and "American Dad" (2.705 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9).

Next up was CBS (5.694 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with its mix of "60 Minutes" (8.270 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), "The Amazing Race 22" (6.774 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "The Mentalist" (4.438 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #17) and "The Good Wife" (3.293 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #18).

And finally, NBC (2.798 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up encores of "Dateline NBC" (4.085 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13), "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" (3.450 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13), "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" (2.967 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) and "Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again" (1.949 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) to close out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-25.00% - The Amazing Race 22

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+18.63% - The 85th Annual Academy Awards
+13.58% - The Oscars Red Carpet Live, Part 3
+8.06% - The Oscars Red Carpet Live, Part 2
+4.17% - The Oscars Red Carpet Live, Part 1
-14.29% - The Amazing Race 22

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/26/12):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live programming, Fast Nationals for ABC are approximate.]

ABC (30.54 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.8, #1) topped the charts on Sunday with its coverage of "The 84th Annual Academy Awards" (34.36 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.2, #1). Leading off the night were its pre-show specials "Oscar's Red Carpet Live #1" (19.02 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.8, #4), "Oscar's Red Carpet Live #2" (23.35 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 6.2, #3) and "Oscar's Red Carpet Live #3" (30.13 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 8.1, #2).

A distant silver then went to CBS (6.24 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) with new episodes of "60 Minutes" (7.30 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11) and "The Amazing Race 20" (7.60 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #5) followed by repeats of "The Mentalist" (4.87 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15) and "CSI: Miami" (5.19 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12).

Next up was NBC (4.38 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T3) and its mix of "Dateline NBC" (4.98 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13), a one-hour "The Celebrity Apprentice" (2.55 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T16) recap and a new "The Celebrity Apprentice" (5.00 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6).

And finally, repeats of "Bob's Burgers" (2.04 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T16), "The Cleveland Show" (2.51 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14), "The Simpsons" (3.89 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7), "Napoleon Dynamite" (3.58 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7), "Family Guy" (3.51 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7) and "American Dad" (3.25 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10) on FOX (3.13 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T3) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-19.23% - The Amazing Race 20
-30.77% - The Celebrity Apprentice
-31.25% - Dateline NBC
-38.10% - 60 Minutes

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+80.00% - The Celebrity Apprentice (vs. Minute to Win It (Repeat)/Minute to Win It (Repeat))
+37.50% - Dateline NBC
8.33% - 60 Minutes
0.00% - The Amazing Race 20
-3.77% - The 84th Annual Academy Awards (vs. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards)

Source: Nielsen Media Research