[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to holiday delays, we do not have the numbers for December 20-30 but are working to track them down. If any kind reader is willing to lend us a hand, please drop us a line here.]

select final nielsen ratings
(national numbers for wednesday, january 1, 2014)

Here are the highlights of 29 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast and cable networks on said night, courtesy of TravisYanan:

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio - ESPN
18.636 million viewers, #1; 6.626 million adults 18-49 (5.22 rating), #1

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - ESPN
11.304 million viewers, #2; 4.421 million adults 18-49 (3.48 rating), #2

Dance Moms (9:00) - Lifetime
2.420 million viewers, #3; 1.029 million adults 18-49 (0.81 rating), #3

Buying and Selling (9:00) - HGTV
1.948 million viewers, #4; 0.592 million adults 18-49 (0.47 rating), #12

House Hunters International (10:30) - HGTV
1.899 million viewers, #5; 0.538 million adults 18-49 (0.42 rating), #13

HGTV Dream Home 2014 (8:00) - HGTV
1.876 million viewers, #6; 0.676 million adults 18-49 (0.53 rating), #10

House Hunters (10:00) - HGTV
1.871 million viewers, #7; 0.516 million adults 18-49 (0.41 rating), #15

Kim of Queens (10:00) - Lifetime
1.643 million viewers, #8; 0.692 million adults 18-49 (0.54 rating), #9

House of Secrets - LMN
1.636 million viewers, #9; 0.599 million adults 18-49 (0.47 rating), #11

Dance Moms: Guess Who's Coming to the Dance? (8:00) - Lifetime
1.594 million viewers, #10; 0.725 million adults 18-49 (0.57 rating), #7

My Strange Addiction (9:00, 60 Minutes) - TLC
1.482 million viewers, #11; 0.868 million adults 18-49 (0.68 rating), #4

South Beach Tow (10:00) - truTV
1.469 million viewers, #12; 0.702 million adults 18-49 (0.55 rating), #8

My Strange Addiction (10:30) - TLC
1.466 million viewers, #13; 0.787 million adults 18-49 (0.62 rating), #5

My Strange Addiction (10:00) - TLC
1.331 million viewers, #14; 0.753 million adults 18-49 (0.59 rating), #6

Survivorman (9:00) - Discovery
1.245 million viewers, #15; 0.495 million adults 18-49 (0.39 rating), #16

My Dirty Little Secret (9:00) - ID
1.210 million viewers, #16; 0.444 million adults 18-49 (0.35 rating), #19

Operation Repo (10:30) - truTV
1.198 million viewers, #17; 0.464 million adults 18-49 (0.37 rating), #18

Restaurant: Impossible (10:00) - Food
1.177 million viewers, #18; 0.480 million adults 18-49 (0.38 rating), #17

Top Chef (10:00) - Bravo
1.033 million viewers, #19; 0.530 million adults 18-49 (0.42 rating), #14

Lone Target (10:00) - Discovery
0.884 million viewers, #20; 0.411 million adults 18-49 (0.32 rating), #20

The Exes (10:00)* - TV Land
0.655 million viewers, #21; 0.194 million adults 18-49 (0.15 rating), #26

Kirstie (10:30)* - TV Land
0.655 million viewers, #22; 0.194 million adults 18-49 (0.15 rating), #27

Girl Code (10:30) - MTV
0.592 million viewers, #23; 0.390 million adults 18-49 (0.31 rating), #21

Gir Code (10:00)* - MTV
0.564 million viewers, #24; 0.270 million adults 18-49 (0.21 rating), #23

The Soup (10:00)* - E!
0.461 million viewers, #25; 0.280 million adults 18-49 (0.22 rating), #22

Sturgis Raw (9:00)* - Travel
0.440 million viewers, #26; 0.195 million adults 18-49 (0.15 rating), #24

Food Paradise (10:00)* - Travel
0.440 million viewers, #27; 0.195 million adults 18-49 (0.15 rating), #25

Best Ink (10:00)* - Oxygen
0.322 million viewers, #28; 0.169 million adults 18-49 (0.13 rating), #28

Inside the NFL* - Showtime
0.121 million viewers, #29; 0.044 million adults 18-49 (0.03 rating), #29

[EDITOR'S NOTE: * denotes individual program numbers were not available so the network's primetime average is listed]

Source: Nielsen Media Research