nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, january 24, 2011)

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

FOX (9.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) was the network to beat on Monday with a new "House" (10.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) followed by an above average "Lie to Me" (7.66 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #5).

ABC (9.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then had to settle for silver with fresh installments of "The Bachelor" (9.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3) and "Castle" (9.09 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6).

Next up was CBS (8.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with repeats of "How I Met Your Mother" (7.16 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7), "Rules of Engagement" (7.05 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8), "Two and a Half Men" (11.41 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2), "Mike & Molly" (9.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (6.55 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11).

Meanwhile, NBC (7.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) offered up new episodes of "Chuck" (6.18 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10), "The Cape" (5.89 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12) and "Harry's Law" (10.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #9).

And finally, the return of "90210" (1.70 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14) and "Gossip Girl" (1.59 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13) on The CW (1.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Lie to Me (38.90%), Castle (9.10% vs. 1/10/11), The Bachelor (3.70%), House (2.80%), Chuck (0.00%), Harry's Law (0.00%), The Cape (-11.10%), Gossip Girl (-18.20% vs. 12/6/10), 90210 (-20.00% vs. 12/6/10).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.3/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.6/4 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/25/10):

FOX (12.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.3, #1) coasted to victory on Monday thanks to new episodes of "House" (14.17 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) and "24" (10.69 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.3, #5).

The silver then went to ABC (11.14 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2) with new episodes of "The Bachelor" (11.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.9, #3) and "Castle" (10.54 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.1, #6).

Next up was CBS (9.05 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.10 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #9), "Accidentally on Purpose" (5.60 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10), "Two and a Half Men" (12.06 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #4), "The Big Bang Theory" (11.46 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (9.55 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.6, #7).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) offered up first runs of "Chuck" (6.94 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.5, #8), "Heroes" (4.29 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.28 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12).

And finally, a new "One Tree Hill" (2.21 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and week two of "Life Unexpected" (2.13 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) on The CW (2.17 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research