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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (New Year's Eve to Jan. 17) -- marathon post-"press tour" catchup round

By ED BARK
Here comes an up-close look, in abbreviated form, of the past 17 days of D-FW ratings activity. We'll give you the latest Nielsen numbers first, starting with Tuesday, Jan. 17th and back-tracking all the way to New Year's Eve.

TUESDAY, JAN. 17th -- Fox's new episodes of Glee, New Girl and Raising Hope easily swept the 7 to 9 p.m. slot with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. A first-run episode of NBC's Parenthood then won the 9 p.m. hour in this key demographic.

In total viewers, CBS prospered with crime repeats. NCIS as usual won at 7 p.m. while Unforgettable edged Fox4's local newscast in the 9 p.m. hour. New Girl had the most total viewers from 8 to 8:30 p.m. before the second half of CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles mopped up with an 8:30 to 9 p.m. win. The premiere of The CW's Remodeled ran a distant fifth among the five major broadcast networks, drawing just 47,419 total viewers in a market of nearly 6.8 million.

Local news derby results: WFAA8 topped the total viewers field at 10 p.m., but Fox4 broke through with a first place finish among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. competitions and added a 6 p.m. win with 25-to-54-year-olds. CBS11 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m.

MONDAY, JAN. 16th -- In what turned out to be a battle of the titans, NBC's 90-minute celebration of Betty White's 90th birthday -- followed by a sneak preview of her Off Their Rockers senior prank show -- outdrew Fox's potent two-hour premiere of Alcatraz.

The birthday fete averaged 345,479 total viewers before Rockers upped the ante to 359,027. Alcatraz ran a solid second from 7 to 9 p.m. with 298,060 viewers.

The 18-to-49 golds went mostly to CBS' ever formidable Monday night comedy quartet, with How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Mike & Molly all on top. From 7:30 to 8 p.m., though, Alcatraz nipped CBS' 2 Broke Girls. NBC's White sale dipped to fourth place across the board, with ABC's The Bachelor taking the bronze from 7 to 9 p.m.

At 9 p.m., CBS' Hawaii Five-0 nipped ABC's Castle in total viewers while Fox4's local news won with 18-to-49-year-olds.

Local news derby results: WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. on both ratings scorecards. All four stations claimed Martin Luther King holiday exemptions at 6 a.m., with WFAA8 also taking a knee at 5 and 6 p.m. In the three-way early evening competitions, NBC5 took the total viewer golds at both 5 and 6 p.m. while Fox4 recorded twin wins in the 25-to-54 demographic.

SUNDAY, JAN. 15th -- Post-season NFL football dominated the day, with Fox's Giants-Packers game rolling up 1,138,049 total viewers to easily outpoint CBS's earlier Ravens-Texans game (887,407).

NBC's Golden Globes Awards averaged 480,961 viewers to dominate the prime-time hours. The Globes likewise cruised with 18-to-49-year-olds, as did football.

SATURDAY, JAN. 14th -- Fox's down-to-the-wire 49ers-Saints thriller outdrew CBS' Tim Tebow-fueled Broncos-Patriots game. Total viewer numbers were not included in this day's ratings information. But in the total household Nielsens, 49ers-Broncos ran up the score. The climactic final minutes hit a high of 668,538 homes.

FRIDAY, JAN. 13th -- CBS' Blue Bloods again was the night's biggest draw, with 277,738 total viewers. The Tom Selleck cop drama also took its usual dip with 18-to-49-year-olds, finishing third while Fox4's local newscast and ABC's 20/20 tied for first.

Local news derby results: CBS11 won comfortably in total viewers at 10 p.m., but shared the 25-to-54 spoils with WFAA8. Fox4 and NBC5 tied for first in total viewers at 6 a.m., with Fox4 as usual controlling the 25-to-54 Nielsens. CBS11 ran first at 5 and 6 p.m. in total viewers. The respective 25-to-54 golds went to WFAA8 and Fox4.

THURSDAY, Jan. 12th -- Fox's premiere of The Finder came up small at 8 p.m. opposite potent rival dramas on CBS and ABC.

CBS' Person of Interest won the hour with 413,220 total viewers. ABC's Grey's Anatomy ran second (284,512 viewers), with the third place Finder (203,223 viewers) beating only NBC's The Office and Up All Night among the Big 4 broadcast networks.

Finder likewise ran third among 18-to-49-year-olds, with Person of Interest plunging from first to fourth. At 9 p.m., NBC's second episode of The Firm ran third in total viewers and fourth in the 18-to-49 demographic.

In prime-time's lead-off hour, CBS' premiere of the Rob Schneider sitcom Rob drew a robust 355,801 total viewers from 7:30 to 8 p.m. after a new Big Bang Theory episode set the table with the biggest audience of the night -- 487,735 viewers. Both comedies also won their time slots with 18-to-49-year-olds.

Local news derby results: CBS11 ran the table at 10 p.m. and Fox4 did likewise at 5 and 6 p.m. In the 6 a.m. competitions, Fox4 nailed down another win in total viewers but WFAA8 rose up to claim a rare first place finish with 25-to-54-year-olds.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11th -- ABC's Modern Family had the biggest prime-time haul with 277,738 total viewers while also easily finishing as the top draw among 18-to-49-year-olds. CBS' two-hour People's Choice Awards outdrew everything except Modern Family, averaging 270,964 viewers from 8 to 10 p.m. But the show faltered in its final hour in the 18-to-49 demo, placing third behind NBC's Law & Order: SVU and Fox4's local news.

NBC's launch of Are You There, Chelsea? was found by 176,127 total viewers from 7:30 to 8 p.m. That put it second behind CBS' second half of a Criminal Minds repeat. Chelsea had NBC's strongest ratings of the night, however, among 18-to-49-year-olds, winning its time slot by a solid margin over ABC's competing Suburgatory.

Local news derby results: WFAA8 had a doubleheader win at 10 p.m. while Fox4 swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions. The 6 a.m. firsts went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

TUESDAY, JAN. 10th -- CBS' NCIS again flexed, drawing a night's high of 535,154 total viewers. The network's NCIS: Los Angeles and Unforgettable also won their time periods. Unforgettable was the only crimestopper to falter with 18-to-49-year-olds, tying NBC's Parenthood for second behind Fox4's local news.

The second and what turned out to be the last episode of ABC's abysmal Work It was the smallest draw among the Big 4 broadcast networks with 94,837 total viewers.

Local news derby results: WFAA8 had an enjoyable late night, winning at 10 p.m. in both ratings measurements. Fox4 likewise ran the table at 6 a.m. CBS11 notched a 6 p.m. victory in total viewers while NBC5 won at 5 p.m. in that measurement. WFAA8 won at both early evening hours among 25-to-54-year-olds, with paper-thin margins over NBC5 at 5 p.m. and CBS11 at 6 p.m.

MONDAY, JAN. 9th -- Alabama's 21-0 wipeout of LSU in the BCS championship game topped all prime-time programming, but with a less than imposing 602,895 total viewers on ESPN. The biggest draw opposite the game, ABC's 9 p.m. episode of Castle, had a respectable 277,738 viewers.

Local news derby results: Fox4 and NBC5 split the proceeds while WFAA8 and CBS11 went hungry.

Fox4 scored an uncommon sweep at 10 p.m., as did NBC5 at 6 a.m. The Peacock also won at 5 and 6 p.m. in total viewers, with Fox4 taking the 25-to-54 golds at those hours.

SUNDAY, JAN. 8th -- The Broncos' upset overtime win against the Steelers dominated the day's numbers, with 1,232,886 viewers watching Tim Tebow throw the winning 80-yard TD pass on the first play of overtime. Denver-Pittsburgh had an overall average of 887,407 viewers on CBS, easily outpointing Fox's earlier post-season matchup of the Giants and Falcons (711,281 viewers).

In prime-time, NBC's two-hour premiere of The Firm had 189,675 viewers, trailing CBS' football-delayed backwash of The Good Wife and CSI: Miami and ABC's Desperate Housewives.

SATURDAY, JAN. 7th -- The Saints-Lions playoff matchup flexed with 914,504 viewers during prime-time on NBC. The Peacock's earlier Texans-Bengals matchup averaged 582,573 viewers. ESPN's early afternoon attraction, SMU's win over Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl, drew scant interest locally, averaging just 74,515 viewers.

FRIDAY, JAN. 6th -- Fox's prime-time telecast of the Cotton Bowl from Jerry's Palace, one of the very few bowl games on free TV, ranked as the day's top draw with 406,446 viewers. For the record, Arkansas beat Kansas State.

Local news derby results: Opposite the closing stages of the Cotton Bowl, WFAA8 won a downsized three-way 10 p.m. competition in total viewers, but NBC5 topped the field among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 ran the table at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. while adding a 6 p.m. win in the 25-to-54 demographic. CBS11 ran first at 6 p.m. in total viewers.

THURSDAY, JAN. 5th -- Not much happening in prime-time, with CBS' The Big Bang Theory topping all programs with 338,705 viewers on a night of repeats.

Local news derby results: WFAA8 swept the 10 p.m. faceoffs while adding 5 and 6 p.m. wins among 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 and NBC5 tied for first in total viewers at 6 a.m., with Fox4 alone on top in the 25-to-54 demo. CBS11 won at 6 p.m. in total viewers and NBC5 had the 5 p.m. gold in that measurement.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 4th -- Repeats again held the balance of power all night, with ABC's Modern Family making the biggest hauls in both total viewers and 18-to-49-year-olds. On ESPN, a prime-time BCS bowl game between West Virginia and Clemson had just 94,837 viewers.

Local news derby results: The 10 p.m. firsts were split between WFAA8 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 called the tune at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements. CBS11 won at 6 p.m. in total viewers, with NBC5 on top at 5 p.m. in that measurement. WFAA8 had the 5 and 6 p.m. golds in the 25-to-54 demo.

TUESDAY, JAN. 3rd -- ESPN's Michigan-Virginia Tech BCS bowl game managed to draw 196,449 viewers. But that was still well less than half the crowd for CBS' NCIS, which again led all prime-time attractions with 392,898 viewers.

ABC's dry heave-inducing premieres of the sitcom Work It and Celebrity Wife Swap respectively drew 108,386 and 121,934 viewers to run third in their time slots. It was the same result among 18-to-49-year-olds, with Fox's repeats of Glee, New Girl and Raising Hope finishing fourth across the board.

Local news derby results: CBS11 topped the 10 p.m. field in total viewers but NBC5 delivered the largest number of 25-to-54-year-olds.

The Peacock had a nice time in the early morning, too, toppling usual front-runner Fox4 in both ratings measurements. Fox4 rebounded in the early evening, sweeping both the 5 and 6 p.m. faceoffs.

MONDAY, JAN. 2nd -- ESPN scored with the day's two high-scoring Big Tunas, the Rose Bowl between Wisconsin and Oregon followed by a prime-time BCS Fiesta Bowl matchup of Oklahoma State and Stanford.

Both games commanded their time slots, with the Rose Bowl averaging 284,512 viewers before the Fiesta Bowl drew 413,220.

Local news derby results: All four combatants punted, taking holiday exemptions for their local newscasts.

SUNDAY, JAN. 1st -- Yesterday when we were young, the Dallas Cowboys folded in another big game. Their loss to the New York Giants, with the winner moving to the post-season, averaged a giant-sized 1,490,302 viewers on NBC's Sunday Night Football. Still, it came up short of the Cowboys' most-watched regular season game, a symmetrical opening bell loss to the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football. That game drew 1,634,465 viewers.

SATURDAY, DEC. 31st -- WFAA8's annual live Big D NYE telecast miffed/irked/outraged some viewers by all but blotting out ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve from 10:30 p.m. to midnight. But WFAA8's alternative celebration from Victory Park drew a very nice-sized 291,286 total viewers in easily winning its time slot opposite rival celebrations.

Big D NYE likewise triumphed among 18-to-49-year-olds, with WFAA8's Pete Delkus, Dale Hansen, Gordon Keith and Shelly Slater doing the bulk of the hosting/toasting. The station's post-midnight replay of ABC's Rockin' Eve had 135,482 total viewers, also winning its time slot.