nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, june 2, 2011)

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

ABC (10.96 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1) coasted to victory on Thursday with its coverage of the "NBA Finals, Game 2" (13.13 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.5, #1). Kicking off the evening were the pre-game specials "Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night" (6.17 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T5) and "NBA Countdown" (7.10 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3).

FOX (5.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then got bumped to second place with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (7.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) and a repeat of "Glee" (4.23 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9).

Next up was CBS (7.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) with its all-repeat mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.36 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4), "Rules of Engagement" (6.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T5), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7) and "The Mentalist" (8.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.56 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up encores of "Community" (2.59 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13), "30 Rock" (2.31 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13), "The Office" (2.89 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10) and "Parks & Recreation" (2.52 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11) alongside the debut of "Love Bites" (2.53 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.04 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Nikita" (1.02 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.03 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): So You Think You Can Dance (-12.50%).

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," 2.5/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6 with an encore. ABC's "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" were delayed by an NBA overrun.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) tied CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (6/3/10):

ABC (10.19 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) rose to the top spot on Thursday thanks to its coverage of the "NBA Finals, Game 1" (11.17 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1). Leading off the night were its pre-game specials "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" (7.64 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.5, #5) and "NBA Countdown" (8.81 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3).

The silver then went to FOX (8.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (7.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4) followed by a second hour of "So You Think You Can Dance" (9.22 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2).

Next up was CBS (7.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.09 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13), "Rules of Engagement" (4.62 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.53 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7) and "The Mentalist" (9.30 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) served up its mix of "Community" (3.06 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14), "100 Questions" (2.23 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15), "The Office" (2.78 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10), "30 Rock" (2.84 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10), another "The Office" (2.94 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8) and "Parks & Recreation" (2.55 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.28 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T16) and "Moonlight" (1.41 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T16) on The CW (1.35 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research