nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, september 27, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (18.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.3, #1) was once again the network to beat with new episodes of "Dancing With the Stars" (21.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.8, #T1) and "Castle" (12.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #T7).

The silver then went to CBS (11.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2) with week two of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.97 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (8.14 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.2, #T7), "Two and a Half Men" (13.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.8, #T1), "Mike & Molly" (11.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #T4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (12.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.5, #6).

Next up was NBC (6.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) with fresh installments of "Chuck" (5.32 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11), "The Event" (8.98 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #9) and "Chase" (6.36 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #10).

Meanwhile, FOX (6.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4) offered up new episodes of "House" (10.06 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.7, #T4)and "Lone Star" (3.79 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "90210" (1.97 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (1.79 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) on The CW (1.88 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Castle (14.30%), 90210 (10.00%), How I Met Your Mother (5.60%), Rules of Engagement (3.20%), Two and a Half Men (0.00%), Lone Star (0.00%), Dancing With the Stars (-2.00%), Chuck (-4.80%), Mike & Molly (-5.10%), Hawaii Five-0 (-7.90%), Gossip Girl (-9.10%), House (-11.90%), Chase (-16.00%), The Event (-21.60%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.5/8) took top honors ahead of CBS's "Letterman" (2.6/6) and NBC's "Leno" (2.7/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.8/6) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.3/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/28/09):

FOX (11.08 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.3, #1) lead the adults 18-49 charge on Monday thanks to a new "House" (14.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.7, #1) and the return of "Lie to Me" (7.72 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #8).

CBS (11.73 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2) then once again had to settle for second place with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.73 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.6, #6), "Accidentally on Purpose" (8.07 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.1, #7), "Two and a Half Men" (13.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.7, #3), "The Big Bang Theory" (13.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 5.1, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (13.46 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.1, #4).Meanwhile, ABC (14.30 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) offered up week two of "Dancing With the Stars" (16.67 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #5) and "Castle" (9.57 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #11).

Next up was NBC (6.13 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4) with a new "Heroes" (5.82 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.5, #9) and the premiere of "Trauma" (6.93 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.4, #10) as well as a new "The Jay Leno Show" (5.64 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.8, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "One Tree Hill" (2.62 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T13) and "Gossip Girl" (2.33 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T13) on The CW (2.47 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5) rounded out the night.

Source: Nielsen Media Research