For the week's top 25 individual cable programs click here.
With all the college football bowls there was no doubt that ESPN would lead in primetime with both adults 18-49 and total viewers for the week ending January 1, 2012.
In fact, ESPN came within shouting distance of Nickelodeon in total day total viewership, but Bikini Bottom was still #1.
Prime-time Average Viewers (Live+SD) Week Ending January 1, 2012
| Network | (000s) |
| ESPN | 5,905 |
| TNT | 2,758 |
| DSNY | 2,404 |
| USA | 2,311 |
| TBSC | 2,170 |
| HIST | 2,051 |
| FOOD | 1,569 |
| A&E | 1,552 |
| DISC | 1,383 |
| HGTV | 1,281 |
| FOXN | 1,281 |
| TRU | 1,275 |
| FX | 1,240 |
| LIFE | 1,179 |
| TLC | 1,116 |
| FAM | 1,113 |
| SYFY | 1,109 |
| ADSM | 1,104 |
| HALL | 1,013 |
| SPK | 1,000 |
| NAN | 985 |
| AMC | 943 |
| VH1 | 866 |
| TVLD | 801 |
| BET | 792 |
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Adults 18-49 Prime-time Average (Live+SD)
| Network | (000s) |
| ESPN | 2,312 |
| TNT | 1,218 |
| TBSC | 1,191 |
| USA | 890 |
| HIST | 835 |
| A&E | 711 |
| FOOD | 696 |
| DISC | 691 |
| TRU | 682 |
| FX | 658 |
| VH1 | 551 |
| TLC | 524 |
| FAM | 499 |
| DSNY | 489 |
| ADSM | 488 |
| LIFE | 482 |
| SPK | 465 |
| MTV | 456 |
| HGTV | 443 |
| SYFY | 436 |
| CMDY | 432 |
| EN | 395 |
| AMC | 380 |
| BET | 375 |
| NAN | 309 |
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Total Day Average Viewers (Live+SD)
| Network | (000s) |
| NICK | 2,200 |
| ESPN | 2,088 |
| DSNY | 2,002 |
| TNT | 1,354 |
| USA | 1,347 |
| ADSM | 1,233 |
| TOON | 1,215 |
| HIST | 1,098 |
| NAN | 1,084 |
| TBSC | 991 |
| FOXN | 936 |
| A&E | 898 |
| FOOD | 818 |
| HGTV | 786 |
| FX | 752 |
| DISC | 743 |
| TRU | 678 |
| LIFE | 654 |
| TVLD | 651 |
| SPK | 644 |
| AMC | 614 |
| TLC | 606 |
| SYFY | 579 |
| MTV | 570 |
| NKJR | 569 |
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Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2012 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Cable Channel Abbreviations: NICK = Nickelodeon, NAN = Nick At Nite, TOON = Cartoon Network, ADSM = Adult Swim, TRU = truTV, LIFE = Lifetime, NKJR - Nick Jr., FAM = ABC Family, TVLD = TV Land, FOXN = Fox News, TBSC = TBS, DISC = Discovery
