nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, june 16, 2011)

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

FOX (4.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) narrowly took home top honors on Thursday thanks to a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) and a repeat of "Glee" (3.36 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8).

ABC (5.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then snagged the silver with repeats of "Wipeout" (5.49 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4), another "Wipeout" (6.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) and "Rookie Blue" (3.53 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

Next up was CBS (7.18 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (5.57 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and "The Mentalist" (8.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.60 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "Community" (2.61 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), "30 Rock" (2.39 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), "The Office" (3.16 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) and "Parks & Recreation" (2.79 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) followed by week three of "Love Bites" (2.33 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.08 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Nikita" (1.09 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Love Bites (-0.00%), 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," 2.6/6; and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7. and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.6/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; and "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3..

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) topped an encore of CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped the encore "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., a rebroadcast of "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 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 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (6/17/10):

A monster showing for the "NBA Finals, Game 7" (21.06 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.5, #1) made ABC (18.86 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.5, #1) tower over the competition on Thursday. Leading off the night was its pre-game specials "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" (12.65 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.6, #3) and "NBA Countdown" (16.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.2, #2).

FOX (5.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) then claimed a distant second place with a repeat of "Glee" (4.05 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T5) and a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.07 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4).

Next up was CBS (7.90 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with repeats of "The Mentalist" (7.22 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (8.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T5) and another "The Mentalist" (8.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up its mix of "Community" (2.57 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11), "100 Questions" (2.05 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12), "The Office" (2.48 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), "30 Rock" (2.38 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), another "The Office" (2.04 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12) and "Parks & Recreation" (1.80 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12).

And finally, second runs of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.35 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) and "Moonlight" (1.23 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) on The CW (1.29 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research