nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, may 17, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (7.95 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) was the network to beat on Tuesday with the penultimate week of "The Biggest Loser" (6.99 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6) and a new installment of "The Voice" (9.87 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1).

CBS (15.30 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) then claimed the silver with the season finales of "NCIS" (18.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (15.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5) and "The Good Wife" (12.44 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.5, #7).

ABC (13.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) then took home the bronze with its mix of "Dancing With the Stars Recap" (13.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #8), "Dancing With the Stars" (17.72 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T3) and the season finale of "Body of Proof" (10.48 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T9).

Meanwhile, FOX (6.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #4) had to settle for fourth place with a new "Glee" (8.76 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T3) followed by the season finales of "Raising Hope" (5.53 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T9) and "Breaking In" (3.32 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #11).

And finally, the season finale of "One Tree Hill" (1.52 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12) led into the de facto swan song for "Hellcats" (1.16 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #13) on The CW (1.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Good Wife (25.00%), One Tree Hill (16.70%), NCIS: Los Angeles (14.30%), Dancing With the Stars (9.40%), NCIS (8.60%), The Biggest Loser (7.70%), Body of Proof (4.80%), Raising Hope (0.00%), Hellcats (0.00%), The Voice (-2.20%), Glee (-2.80%), Breaking In (-41.70%vs. 5/11/11).

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," 3.0/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.7/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5 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; "Late Show," 0.8/3; "Nightline," 1.1/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.5/5 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 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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/18/10):

New episodes of "American Idol" (18.31 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.6, #1) and "Glee" (11.59 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 4.8, #2) lifted FOX (14.95 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.7, #1) to an easy win on Tuesday.

ABC (9.77 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T2) and NBC (7.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T2) shared the silver as the latter offered up new episodes of "The Biggest Loser" (8.27 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T5) and "Parenthood" (6.24 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

The Alphabet then served up a new "Dancing With the Stars" (13.06 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #8), the penultimate "Lost" (10.40 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.2, #3) and the season finale of "V" (5.87 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T9).

Next up was CBS (14.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4) with new episodes of "NCIS" (15.57 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (15.23 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T5) and "The Good Wife" (12.17 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T9).

And finally, the season finale of "90210" (1.61 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11) lead into a repeat of "Life Unexpected" (0.96 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) on The CW (1.28 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research