ABC’s “Barbara Walters Special” claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for January 7, 2009.  The show drew almost 12.6 million average viewers Wednesday night.
NBC’s “Law And Order” was the second-ranked program, with almost 10.3 million average viewers, while CBS’s “People’s Choice Awards Special” rounded out the top three (roughly 9.4 million average viewers).

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
BARBARA WALTERS SP-1/7(S)-01/07/2009
ABC
12,550,000

2
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
10,259,000

3
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS(S)-01/07/2009
CBS
9,407,000

4
20/20 SP EDITION-1/7(S)-01/07/2009
ABC
7,945,000

5
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,893,000

6
LAW AND ORDER:SVU 9P
NBC
7,475,000

7
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
7,131,000

8
BONES
FOX
6,639,000

9
BONES-WED 9P
FOX
6,551,000

10
KNIGHT RIDER
NBC
5,736,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 7, 2009).

Overall, CBS won the night with an …

CBS’s “CSI” and “Criminal Minds” special presentations were the number one and number-two ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, December 24, 2008.
NBC’s “Movie of the Week” rounded out the top three.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
CSI: NY – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
6,918,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
6,461,000

3
NBC MOVIE OF WEEK-WE12/24(S)-12/24/2008
NBC
5,292,000

4
WONDERFUL WORLD DISNEY SP(S)-12/24/2008
ABC
4,567,000

5
BONES SP-XMAS EVE 8P(S)-12/24/2008
FOX
4,354,000

6
BONES SP-XMAS EVE 9P(S)-12/24/2008
FOX
3,823,000

7
GARY UNMARRIED – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
3,514,000

8
OLD CHRISTINE – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
3,477,000

9
FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS(S)-12/24/2008
CW
1,844,000

10
DON FRANCISCO PRSTA 12/24(S)-12/24/2008
UNI
1,816,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 24, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 5.6 million viewers, while NBC took second place with almost …

Last week, Nielsen issued the Top Ten’s of 2008 for a variety of media.  This week Nielsen takes a more detailed look at the top timeshifted television programs in the U.S. during this calendar year.   
The charts below show the top ten primetime TV programs that saw the biggest increase in timeshifted playback within seven days from the original telecast. 
The first chart is ranked by total gain in household audience from timeshifting, and the second chart is ranked by the percent increase in household rating.

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one- and two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, November 26, 2008.
ABC’s “Barbara Walters Special” rounded out the top three.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,108,000

2
CSI: NY
CBS
12,304,000

3
BARBARA WALTERS SP-11/26(S)-11/26/2008
ABC
11,612,000

4
BONES
FOX
9,867,000

5
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
7,631,000

6
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,483,000

7
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
6,334,000

8
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
6,330,000

9
DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED
NBC
6,319,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
5,506,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 25, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 11.3 million viewers, while ABC took second place with just over 7.4 million average viewers. FOX and NBC claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.3 …

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one and number two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, November 19, 2008.
FOX’s “Bones” rounded out the top three with 10.8 million average viewers.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
16,334,000

2
CSI: NY
CBS
14,119,000

3
BONES
FOX
10,818,000

4
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
7,882,000

5
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,847,000

6
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
7,623,000

7
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
7,225,000

8
HOUSE-WED 9P
FOX
5,684,000

9
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
ABC
5,580,000

10
LIFE
NBC
5,427,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 19, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 12.8 million viewers,
while FOX took second place with almost 8.3 million average viewers. NBC and ABC
claimed third and fourth places with roughly 6.1 million and 5.9 million average viewers,
respectively. …

The CMA Awards, aired on ABC, were the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Wednesday, November 12, 2008.
CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” rounded out the top three.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CMA AWARDS(S)-11/12/2008
ABC
15,905,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,833,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
11,624,000

4
BONES
FOX
10,868,000

5
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
7,933,000

6
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
6,817,000

7
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
6,607,000

8
HOUSE-WED 9P
FOX
6,216,000

9
LIFE
NBC
5,809,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
5,546,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 12, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost 15.9 million viewers,
while CBS took second place with almost 11.1 million average viewers. FOX and NBC
claimed third and fourth places with roughly 8.5 million and 6.4 million average viewers,
respectively. Univision and the CW …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the top-rated primetime telecast on broadcast TV for November 5, 2008.  The program drew just over 15.8 million average viewers Wednesday night.
CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” rounded out the top three, with 14.3 million and 11.8 million average viewers, respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)-11/05/2008
ABC
15,848,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,304,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
11,801,000

4
BONES
FOX
10,172,000

5
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
9,171,000

6
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
7,936,000

7
HOUSE-WED 9P
FOX
6,654,000

8
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
6,497,000

9
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
6,326,000

10
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
ABC
6,151,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 5, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 10.8 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 10.5 million …

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one- and two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, October 8, 2008, drawing average audiences of almost 16.2 million and 15.9 million viewers.
FOX’s “Bones” rounded out the top three, with almost 10.6 million average viewers Wednesday night.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
16,185,000

2
CSI: NY
CBS
15,873,000

3
BONES
FOX
10,559,000

4
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,526,000

5
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
7,400,000

6
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
7,357,000

7
KNIGHT RIDER
NBC
6,856,000

8
BIGGEST LOSER 6 10/8(S)-10/08/2008
NBC
6,556,000

9
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
ABC
5,852,000

10
PUSHING DAISIES
ABC
5,501,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 8, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 13.2 million viewers, while FOX took second place with just over 7.4 million average viewers. ABC …

The season premiere of CBS’s “Criminal Minds” was the top-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Wednesday, September 24, 2008.  The show drew an average of just over 17 million viewers.
ABC’s special presentation of “Dancing with the Stars” claimed second place, with almost 15.9 million average viewers, while the season premiere of CBS’s “CSI:NY” rounded out the top three, with almost 14.6 million average viewers.
Several other Wednesday night premieres also made the top ten: NBC’s “Knight Rider” and “Lipstick Jungle,” as well as CBS’s “Gary Unmarried” and ”New Adventures of Old Christine.”

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL …