nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, june 23, 2011)

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

ABC (6.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) was the network to beat with the debut of its Thursday summer lineup of "Wipeout" (7.47 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T1), "Expedition Impossible" (7.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T1) and "Rookie Blue" (5.88 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5).

FOX (4.78 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then got bumped to second place with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.32 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) followed by a repeat of "Glee" (3.23 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9).

Next up was CBS (7.37 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.19 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4), "Rules of Engagement" (5.65 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.68 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7) and "The Mentalist" (8.01 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) remained out the hunt with its mix of "Community" (2.33 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "30 Rock" (2.11 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14), "The Office" (2.43 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10), "Parks & Recreation" (2.21 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11) and a new "Love Bites" (2.00 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.87 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) and "Nikita" (0.95 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) on The CW (0.91 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 (-9.50%), Love Bites (-11.10%).

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; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 0.7/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

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" (1.1/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore 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 (6/24/10):

ABC (6.72 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) snagged the adults 18-49 crown on Thursday thanks to its new lineup of "Wipeout" (7.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1), "Rookie Blue" (7.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) and "Boston Med" (5.10 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

FOX (5.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then had to settle for second place with a repeat of "Glee" (3.86 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.35 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2).

Next up was CBS (7.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.41 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), another "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5) and "The Mentalist" (8.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.14 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) served up its mix of "Community" (2.28 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13), "100 Questions" (1.83 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14), "The Office" (2.40 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), "30 Rock" (2.09 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11), another "The Office" (2.25 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9) and "Parks & Recreation" (1.99 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.13 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) and "Moonlight" (1.02 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) closed out the evening for The CW (1.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research