nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, may 2, 2011)

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

ABC (18.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) was the network to beat on Monday with a two-hour "Dancing With the Stars" (20.88 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1) and a new "Castle" (12.23 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T2).

CBS (7.82 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then had to settle for second place with fresh installments of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.73 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #4) and "Mad Love" (5.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T7) followed by a repeat of "Two and a Half Men" (7.63 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T7) and new episodes of "Mike & Molly" (8.06 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #6) and "Hawaii Five-0" (9.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #5), both of which hit series lows.

Next up was FOX (7.01 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with new episodes of "House" (8.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T2) and "The Chicago Code" (5.54 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9).

Over on NBC (4.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4), the Peacock served up new episodes of "Chuck" (4.12 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T10), "The Event" (4.02 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12) and "Law & Order: LA" (4.81 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T10).

And finally, new episodes of "90210" (1.50 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) and "Gossip Girl" (1.28 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) rounded out the night on The CW (1.39 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Mad Love (10.00%), How I Met Your Mother (8.00% vs. 4/18/11), Law & Order: LA (7.70%), Chuck (7.70% vs. 4/18/11), The Event (0.00%), Dancing With the Stars (-2.20%), Castle (-6.50% vs. 4/11/11), Hawaii Five-0 (-7.70% vs. 4/18/11), Mike & Molly (-8.00% vs. 4/18/11), House (-9.40% vs. 4/18/11), The Chicago Code (-15.80% vs. 4/18/11), 90210 (-22.20%), Gossip Girl (-22.20%).

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.1/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 4.5/10; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/6 (delayed by additional "Nightline" coverage).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/3; "Late Show," 1.0/4; "Nightline," 1.3/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/4 (delayed by additional "Nightline" coverage).

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" (0.5/3 in 18-49) trailed "Late Late Show" (0.6/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 with an encore 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 (5/3/10):

New episodes of "House" (9.93 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3) and "24" (9.12 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6) put FOX (9.42 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) in front of a tight race on Monday.

A close second then went to ABC (15.02 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) with new episodes of "Dancing With the Stars" (19.05 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2), "Romantically Challenged" (10.56 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #10) and "Castle" (10.77 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #9).

Next up was CBS (9.28 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) and its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (7.40 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5), "Rules of Engagement" (7.21 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T7), a special "The Big Bang Theory" (11.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1), a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (10.30 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4) and a new "CSI: Miami" (9.62 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.49 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) offered up a new "Chuck" (5.28 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11), a repeat of "Law & Order" (5.06 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #13) and a new "Law & Order" (6.14 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "One Tree Hill" (1.93 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) and "Gossip Girl" (1.75 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15) on The CW (1.84 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research