nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, march 17, 2011)

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

FOX (15.46 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) held onto top honors on Thursday with new episodes of "American Idol" (19.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1) - another season low - and "Bones" (11.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2).

ABC (5.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then won a tight race for second with a new "Wipeout" (7.15 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3), a special earlier "Private Practice" (6.09 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) and a repeat of "Off the Map" (4.05 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14).

Next up was CBS (4.75 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with its coverage of "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: BYU/Wofford" (5.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6), an "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Update" (4.44 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) and "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: St. John's/Gonzaga" (4.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.79 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up its mix of "Community" (4.21 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6), "Perfect Couples" (2.89 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13), a repeat of "The Office" (3.70 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T10), "Parks & Recreation" (4.06 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "30 Rock" (4.24 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6) and "Outsourced" (3.64 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12) - all originals of which were season lows.

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.23 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) and "Nikita" (1.53 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Bones (0.00%), Community (-5.60% vs. 2/24/11), Outsourced (-6.70% vs. 2/24/11), Wipeout (-9.10% vs. 2/24/11), American Idol (-13.80%), Perfect Couples (-14.30% vs. 2/24/11), Private Practice (-20.80% vs. 2/24/11), Parks & Recreation (-25.00% vs. 2/24/11), 30 Rock (-26.10% vs. 2/24/11).

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," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.3/4 with an encore delayed by basketball; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; 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," 0.4/2 with an encore delayed by basketball; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/4 with an encore delayed by basketball). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/3 with an encore delayed by basketball).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/18/10):

CBS (10.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) was the network to beat with its opening round coverage of the "NCAA Basketball Championship" (10.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1).

Second place then went to NBC (6.59 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) with its mix of "Community" (5.21 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #5), "Parks & Recreation" (4.70 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T6), "The Office" (7.63 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2), "30 Rock" (6.86 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3) and "The Marriage Ref" (7.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4).

Next up was ABC (5.78 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with the return of "FlashForward" (6.61 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #8), a second hour of "FlashForward" (6.49 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T6) and a repeat of "Private Practice" (4.25 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11).

Meanwhile, FOX (5.31 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) served up repeats of "Bones" (6.25 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) and "Fringe" (4.38 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10).

And finally, second runs of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.43 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #13) and "Supernatural" (1.44 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #12) on The CW (1.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research