nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, january 17, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (11.70 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) held off the competition on Monday thanks to new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.51 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (9.85 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5), "Two and a Half Men" (15.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.6, #1), "Mike & Molly" (13.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3) and "Hawaii Five-0" (10.62 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6).

FOX (8.26 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then claimed the silver with the return of "House" (10.59 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4) followed by a new "Lie to Me" (5.94 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T10).

Next up was ABC (7.72 million viewers, #T2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) with week three of "The Bachelor" (8.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7) alongside a repeat of "Castle" (5.66 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12).

Meanwhile, NBC (7.72 million viewers, #T2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) offered up the return of "Chuck" (5.92 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) plus the time period debut of "The Cape" (6.19 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T10) and the launch of "Harry's Law" (11.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #8).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (1.02 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.71 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (0.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Lie to Me (12.50%), House (5.90% vs. 11/22/10), Mike & Molly (2.70% vs. 1/3/11), Chuck (0.00% vs. 11/29/10), How I Met Your Mother (0.00% vs. 1/3/11), Two and a Half Men (0.00% vs. 1/3/11), Hawaii Five-0 (0.00% vs. 1/3/11), The Bachelor (-3.60%), Rules of Engagement (-5.90% vs. 1/3/11).

In late-night metered market ratings (adults 18-49):
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" 3.0/8 (0.9)
"Nightline" 2.9/7 (1.0)
"Late Show with David Letterman" 2.9/7 (0.9)
"Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" 1.5/4 (0.5)
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" 1.4/5 (0.5)
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" 1.2/4 (0.4)
"Last Call with Carson Daly" 0.8/3 (0.3)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/18/10):

CBS (12.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) staved off the competition on Monday thanks to new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.52 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.0, #3), "Accidentally on Purpose" (10.35 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.5, #7), "Two and a Half Men" (16.20 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.3, #1), "The Big Bang Theory" (14.99 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.2, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (13.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.6, #T5).

The silver then went to ABC (10.23 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) with fresh installments of "The Bachelor" (10.63 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.9, #4) and "Castle" (9.44 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #9).

Next up was FOX (11.01 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3) with hour three of "24" (10.56 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.3, #8) and hour four of "24" (11.46 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.6, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) offered up new episodes of "Chuck" (6.66 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.5, #10), "Heroes" (3.93 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.61 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13).

And finally, a new "One Tree Hill" (2.20 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13) lead into the premiere of "Life Unexpected" (2.74 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12) on The CW (2.47 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research