The season's final Monday Night Football game between the Saints and Falcons topped cable viewing for the week with 15.6 million viewers, down about a million from the prior week's 49ers/Steelers matchup.
Top 25 Basic cable shows for the week ending January 1, 2012:
| Rank | Shows | Net | Day | Time | Viewers Live+SD (000) | HH rating |
| 1 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L (ATLANTA/NEW ORLEANS) | ESPN | MONDAY | 8:30 PM | 15,638 | 9.2 |
| 2 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (WASHINGTON/BAYLOR) | ESPN | THURSDAY | 9:00 PM | 6,923 | 4.4 |
| 3 | CLOSER, THE (715 SILENT PARTNER) | TNT | MONDAY | 9:00 PM | 6,163 | 3.9 |
| 4 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (VIRGINIA/AUBURN) | ESPN | SATURDAY | 7:30 PM | 6,155 | 3.6 |
| 5 | RIZZOLI & ISLES (215 BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE) | TNT | MONDAY | 10:00 PM | 5,790 | 3.7 |
| 6 | iCarly: IPSYCHO 2 | NICK | SATURDAY | 8:00 PM | 5,506 | 2.8 |
| 7 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (FLORIDA STATE/NOTRE DAME) | ESPN | THURSDAY | 5:27 PM | 5,228 | 3.3 |
| 8 | Pawn Stars (HIGH TOPS) | HIST | MONDAY | 10:30 PM | 5,227 | 3.1 |
| 9 | Pawn Stars (APOCALYPSE WOW) | HIST | MONDAY | 10:00 PM | 5,056 | 3.0 |
| 10 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (IOWA/OKLAHOMA) | ESPN | FRIDAY | 10:15 PM | 4,812 | 3.0 |
| 11 | WWE Entertainment (WWE Raw) | USA | MONDAY | 10:00 PM | 4,594 | 2.6 |
| 12 | NBA Basketball (BOSTON/MIAMI) | TNT | TUESDAY | 8:16 PM | 4,548 | 2.9 |
| 13 | WWE Entertainment (WWE Raw) | USA | MONDAY | 9:00 PM | 4,330 | 2.5 |
| 14 | Big Bang Theory, THE (WILDEBEEST IMPLEMENTATION, THE) | TBSC | TUESDAY | 9:30 PM | 4,295 | 2.6 |
| 15 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (CALIFORNIA/TEXAS) | ESPN | WEDNESDAY | 8:06 PM | 4,263 | 2.7 |
| 16 | American Pickers | HIST | MONDAY | 9:00 PM | 4,254 | 2.5 |
| 17 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (MISSISSIPPI STATE/WAKE FOREST) | ESPN | FRIDAY | 6:49 PM | 4,214 | 2.7 |
| 18 | NCIS | USA | SATURDAY | 7:00 PM | 4,065 | 2.6 |
| 19 | NCIS | USA | SATURDAY | 8:00 PM | 4,057 | 2.7 |
| 20 | SpongeBob | NICK | SATURDAY | 10:30 AM | 4,048 | 2.4 |
| 21 | SpongeBob | NICK | SATURDAY | 10:00 AM | 4,009 | 2.4 |
| 22 | Big Bang Theory, THE (AGREEMENT DISSECTION, THE) | TBSC | TUESDAY | 9:00 PM | 3,932 | 2.4 |
| 23 | COLL FTBL BOWL GAME L (TEXAS A&M/NORTHWESTERN) | ESPN | SATURDAY | 11:57 AM | 3,903 | 2.7 |
| 24 | Big Bang Theory, THE (ENGAGEMENT REACTION, THE) | TBSC | TUESDAY | 10:00 PM | 3,897 | 2.4 |
| 25 | SPORTSCENTER: L | ESPN | MONDAY | 11:52 PM | 3,853 | 2.5 |
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There is a lot more information in the daily cable ratings.
We always post whatever specific show data we received directly and see via press release or other trade publications. You can subscribe to our RSS feed and we have created a special category (Overnight Cable TV Show Ratings), which we usually post late in the afternoon on the east coast (and Friday night data isn't posted until Monday).
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Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2012 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. All ratings above Live+SD (live viewing plus same day DVR viewing)
