nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, october 21, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (13.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) held off the competition on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (12.94 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (10.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4) and "The Mentalist" (14.22 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T6).

FOX (9.31 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then claimed the silver with its coverage of the "NLCS, Game 5" (9.31 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T6).

Next up was ABC (7.66 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) with a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" (4.36 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14) followed by new episodes "Grey's Anatomy" (10.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.82 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.78 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) offered up fresh installments of "Community" (4.55 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11), "30 Rock" (5.26 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #10), "The Office" (6.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3), "Outsourced" (4.94 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.3, #9) and "The Apprentice" (3.57 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.3, #13).

And finally, the return of new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.58 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12) and "Nikita" (2.84 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15) on The CW (3.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (6.50%), Bleep My Dad Says (0.00%), The Apprentice (0.00%), The Big Bang Theory (-2.40%), Private Practice (-6.70%), Outsourced (-8.00%), The Office (-8.10%), The Mentalist (-12.10%), Grey's Anatomy (-13.30%), Community (-13.60%), 30 Rock (-26.70%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.2/8) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.4/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.8/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.7/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.4/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.1/4) 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 (10/22/09):

ABC (11.49 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1) snagged the top spot on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "FlashForward" (9.82 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.0, #7), "Grey's Anatomy" (14.67 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) and "Private Practice" (9.98 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.7, #4).

FOX (10.34 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) then claimed the silver with its coverage of the "ALCS, Game 5" (10.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #5).

Next up was CBS (11.40 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3) with a new "Survivor: Samoa" (12.88 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.0, #3) followed by repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (10.00 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T9) and "The Mentalist" (11.33 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.88 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #4) offered up its mix of "Community" (5.18 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11), "Parks & Recreation" (4.98 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T9), "The Office" (8.52 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2), "30 Rock" (6.68 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.95 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.31 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13) and "Supernatural" (1.85 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14) on The CW (2.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research