nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, february 10, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (15.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.3, #1) once again rose to the top on Thursday with new episodes of "American Idol" (21.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.2, #1) and "Bones" (10.07 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.3, #5).

CBS (13.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) then took home the silver with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (12.78 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.9, #T2), "Bleep My Dad Says" (10.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T8), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (12.65 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #7) and "The Mentalist" (14.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6).

Next up was ABC (8.22 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) and its lineup of "Wipeout" (6.94 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #12), "Grey's Anatomy" (10.38 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.9, #T2) and "Private Practice" (7.34 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4) offered up new episodes of "Community" (3.85 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.8, #13), "Perfect Couples" (3.06 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.5, #15), "The Office" (6.93 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4), "Parks & Recreation" (5.10 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.6, #10), "30 Rock" (4.61 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.3, #11) and "Outsourced" (3.66 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.7, #14).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.75 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.2, #16) and "Nikita" (1.88 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.7, #17) on The CW (2.31 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Perfect Couples (7.10%), Parks & Recreation (4.00%), Private Practice (3.80%), The Mentalist (3.60%), Bones (0.00%), American Idol (-1.40%), The Office (-2.70%), Bleep My Dad Says (-3.60%), 30 Rock (-4.20%), Outsourced (-5.60%), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (-6.70%), Grey's Anatomy (-7.10%), The Big Bang Theory (-9.30%), Community (-10.00%), Wipeout (-12.00%), The Vampire Diaries (-14.30%), Nikita (-22.20%).

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

Nielsen's 56 metered markets (with four markets excluded today), household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.1/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.9/4; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.5/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.6/4).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/11/10):

CBS (14.69 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) coasted to victory on Thursday thanks to the two-hour launch of "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (14.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) and a new "The Mentalist" (15.72 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4).

Second place then went to ABC (9.14 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) with new episodes of "The Deep End" (5.69 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T11), "Grey's Anatomy" (12.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.3, #2) and "Private Practice" (9.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5).

Next up was NBC (4.99 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) with its final pre-Olympics lineup of "Community" (5.25 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7), "Parks & Recreation" (4.99 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7), "The Office" (7.40 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) and "30 Rock" (6.08 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6) followed by repeats of "The Office" (3.42 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #10) and another "The Office" (2.78 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T13).

Meanwhile, FOX (6.69 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) was out of the hunt with a repeat of "Bones" (8.07 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #9) and the time period premiere of "Past Life" (5.31 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T13).

And finally, fresh installments of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.55 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T11) and "Supernatural" (2.49 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15) on The CW (3.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5) rounded out the night.

Source: Nielsen Media Research