nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, december 8, 2010)

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

New episodes of "Survivor: Nicaragua" (12.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2), "Criminal Minds" (14.22 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3) and "The Defenders" (10.50 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) lifted CBS (12.30 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) to the top spot on Wednesday.

ABC (6.94 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T2) and NBC (7.13 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T2) split the silver then as the latter offered up night two of "The Sing-Off" (7.59 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T4) and a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (6.22 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11).

The Alphabet then served up new episodes of "The Middle" (8.82 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.5, #6), "Better With You" (7.33 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8), "Modern Family" (10.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) and "Cougar Town" (6.53 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T4) followed by repeats of "Modern Family" (4.62 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10) and "Cougar Town" (3.40 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #13).

Next up was FOX (5.50 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) with a new "Human Target" (5.69 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12) and the penultimate week of "Hell's Kitchen" (5.32 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

And finally, a rebroadcast of "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" (2.44 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) led into the new special "Fashion Forward: Making It!" (0.86 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) on The CW (1.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Middle (19.00% vs. 11/24/10), Better With You (15.80% vs. 11/24/10), Modern Family (10.80% vs. 11/24/10), The Defenders (5.30% vs. 11/17/10), Cougar Town (4.00% vs. 11/24/10), Human Target (0.00%), Survivor: Nicaragua (0.00%), Criminal Minds (-5.40% vs. 11/17/10), Hell's Kitchen (-11.50%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.1/7) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.9/7) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.0/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.4/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.4/5) and "Daly" (0.8/4) on NBC.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/9/09):

CBS (11.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) held off the competition on Wednesday thanks to new episodes of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (7.71 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #12), "Gary Unmarried" (7.16 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.4, #9), "Criminal Minds" (14.31 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T1) and "CSI: NY" (12.99 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4).

The silver then went to ABC (8.94 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T2) with its mix of "Shrek the Halls" (8.53 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.6, #7), "The Middle" (7.67 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.5, #8), "Modern Family" (9.62 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T1), "Cougar Town" (6.92 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6) and "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" (10.46 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5).

Sharing second place was FOX (7.38 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T2) with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.66 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T10) and the fall finale of "Glee" (8.10 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.6, #3).

Next up was NBC (6.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) with new episodes of "Mercy" (7.14 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #13), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.97 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T10) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.53 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.3, #14).

And finally, repeats of "Gossip Girl" (0.91 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) and "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" (1.68 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) on The CW (1.29 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research