The BCS Championship was the most watched cable program of 2012 with 24.433 million viewers. Part three of the miniseries Hatfieleds & McCoys was the top scripted program with 17.902 million viewers.
| Rank | Date | Shows | Net | Day | Time | Viewers Live +SD (000) |
| 1 | 1/9/2012 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:24P | 24433 |
| 2 | 1/9/2012 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP SUST L | ESPN | Mon | 11:24P-11:36P | 21849 |
| 3 | 5/30/2012 | HATFIELDS & MCCOYS | HIST | Wed | 09:00P-11:00P | 17902 |
| 4 | 1/2/2012 | ROSE BOWL L | ESPN | Mon | 05:07P-08:42P | 17603 |
| 5 | 5/28/2012 | HATFIELDS & MCCOYS | HIST | Mon | 09:00P-11:06P | 17106 |
| 6 | 10/1/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:40P | 16692 |
| 7 | 5/29/2012 | HATFIELDS & MCCOYS | HIST | Tue | 09:00P-11:05P | 16445 |
| 8 | 12/3/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:45P | 16306 |
| 9 | 9/24/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:58P | 16231 |
| 10 | 12/26/2011 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:52P | 15714 |
| 11 | 9/17/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-12:10A | 15582 |
| 12 | 12/10/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:29P-11:40P | 14548 |
| 13 | 10/8/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:44P | 14096 |
| 14 | 10/28/2012 | Walking Dead | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 14048 |
| 15 | 12/2/2012 | Walking Dead | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 13793 |
| 16 | 1/2/2012 | FIESTA BOWL L | ESPN | Mon | 08:47P-12:28A | 13785 |
| 17 | 1/9/2012 | BCS BOWL STUDIO L | ESPN | Mon | 08:16P-08:30P | 13686 |
| 18 | 11/25/2012 | Walking Dead | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 13621 |
| 19 | 11/11/2012 | Walking Dead | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 13514 |
| 20 | 6/9/2012 | NBA PLAYOFFS-CONF FNLS L | ESPN | Sat | 08:34P-11:18P | 13450 |
| 21 | 10/14/2012 | Walking Dead | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 13410 |
| 22 | 11/4/2012 | WALKING DEAD | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 13049 |
| 23 | 10/21/2012 | WALKING DEAD | AMC | Sun | 09:00P-10:01P | 12934 |
| 24 | 10/15/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:51P | 12909 |
| 25 | 11/5/2012 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L | ESPN | Mon | 08:30P-11:41P | 12908 |
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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)
Will we be seeing a similar list for broadcast? Or have I missed it?
“Will we be seeing a similar list for broadcast? Or have I missed it?”
Cable’s stats are mostly compiled on a calendar year basis, so that’s how we see them. Broadcast follows its own year which begins in late September and so any yearly (as opposed to “broadcast season”) averages we see are Sept-Sept.
What are this numbers ???
Are you sure it’s Live + Same Day and not Live + 7 Days ?
Because The Walking Dead best numbers are under 11 million, not 14 million, unless you include repeats or DVR.
Could we have more information of what represent this numbers ?
Top 10 single broadcast telecasts of 2012 would be Superbowl, NFL Playofs, multiple Olympics daily coverage and Grammy /Oscar awards.