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

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (16.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) held onto top honors on Thursday with a new "American Idol" (21.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.5, #1) - a season low - and the return of "Bones" (10.95 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3).

CBS (12.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then took home the silver with fresh installments of "The Big Bang Theory" (12.13 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (9.48 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (13.58 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #4) and "The Mentalist" (14.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5).

Next up was ABC (4.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with repeats of a two-hour "Wipeout" (5.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.8, #7) and "Grey's Anatomy" (3.46 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) was out of the hunt with its all-repeat lineup of "Community" (2.71 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12), "Perfect Couples" (1.95 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14), "The Office" (2.98 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8), "Parks & Recreation" (2.48 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10), "30 Rock" (2.35 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10) and "Outsourced" (2.16 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13).

And finally, encores of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.28 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) and "Nikita" (1.10 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.19 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Rules of Engagement (21.70%), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (14.80% vs. 2/24/10), The Mentalist (7.10% vs. 2/24/10), Bones (3.00% vs. 2/17/10), The Big Bang Theory (0.00% vs. 2/24/10), American Idol (-19.80%).

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," 2.4/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.1/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/4 in metered-market households with an encore) trailed CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore 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 (3/11/10):

FOX (13.37 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) claimed the adults 18-49 crown last night thanks to the final Thursday editions of "American Idol" (19.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.2, #1) and "Kitchen Nightmares" (7.60 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.1, #7).

CBS (14.52 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) then took home the silver with new episodes of "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (12.18 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (15.42 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #6) and "The Mentalist" (16.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #5).

Next up was NBC (5.80 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with fresh installments of "Community" (4.70 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #12), "Parks & Recreation" (4.61 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.1, #11), "The Office" (7.51 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3), "30 Rock" (5.89 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T8) and "The Marriage Ref" (6.04 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.7, #10).

Meanwhile, ABC (7.77 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #4) offered up a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" (4.40 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) which lead into new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (10.96 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.94 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.46 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T14) and "Supernatural" (1.40 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T14) on The CW (1.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research