nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, may 9, 2011)

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

New episodes of "Dancing With the Stars" (20.19 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) and "Castle" (12.64 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) put ABC (17.67 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) over the top on Monday.

FOX (6.74 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then took home the silver with fresh installments of "House" (7.77 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) and "The Chicago Code" (5.71 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T8).

Next up was CBS (7.29 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.36 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #4), "Mad Love" (5.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #7), "Two and a Half Men" (6.37 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T8), "Mike & Molly" (7.50 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #6) and "Hawaii Five-0" (9.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5) - all of which matched or set new series lows.

Meanwhile, NBC (4.28 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up new episodes of "Chuck" (4.06 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10), "The Event" (3.77 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12) - both of which tied series lows - and "Law & Order: LA" (5.01 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11).

And finally, fresh installments of "90210" (1.46 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (1.18 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14) on The CW (1.32 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Castle (6.90%), The Chicago Code (6.30%), 90210 (0.00%), House (0.00%), Hawaii Five-0 (-4.20%), Mike & Molly (-4.30%), Dancing With the Stars (-6.80%), Chuck (-7.10%), How I Met Your Mother (-7.40%), Gossip Girl (-14.30%), Law & Order: LA (-14.30%), The Event (-15.40%), Mad Love (-18.20%).

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," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 4.0/10; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/6.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) 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 and a 0.4/3 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 (5/10/10):

CBS (10.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) snagged the adults 18-49 crown on Monday thanks to new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.16 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T5), "Rules of Engagement" (8.18 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.2, #7), "Two and a Half Men" (13.75 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.6, #2), "The Big Bang Theory" (13.58 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) and "CSI: Miami" (11.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T5).

A competitive silver then went to ABC (16.47 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2) with a two-hour "Dancing With the Stars" (18.99 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #3) and a new "Castle" (11.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #9).

Next up was FOX (8.90 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #3) with fresh installments of "House" (9.30 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4) and "24" (8.51 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) offered up a new "Chuck" (5.23 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10), a repeat of "Law & Order" (4.37 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12) and a new "Law & Order" (6.17 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11).

And finally, the penultimate weeks of "One Tree Hill" (2.12 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (1.75 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14) on The CW (1.94 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research