nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, july 26, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (9.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T1) was Tuesday's top draw with week two of "It's Worth What?" (5.41 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4) and a new two-hour "America's Got Talent" (11.23 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1).

Sharing the demo crown was FOX (5.85 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T1) with new episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (5.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) and "Masterchef" (5.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3).

Next up was ABC (4.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (4.89 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) followed by the season finale of "101 Ways to Leave a Game Show" (4.37 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4) and a new "Combat Hospital" (3.77 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Meanwhile, CBS (6.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up repeats of "NCIS" (8.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (6.50 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #8) and "48 Hours Mystery" (5.38 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.80 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (0.66 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) on The CW (0.73 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Combat Hospital (12.5%), Masterchef (9.1%), Hell's Kitchen (4.0%), 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show (-6.7%), America's Got Talent (-9.1%), It's Worth What? (-22.2%).

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," 3.1/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/3.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.1/5; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 0.9/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

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" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.5/4 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 (7/27/10):

FOX (6.00 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) snagged the top spot on Tuesday thanks to a new "Hell's Kitchen" (6.25 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) and the launch of "Masterchef" (5.75 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2).

ABC (6.14 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) then had to settle for second place with its all-repeat lineup of "Wipeout" (7.19 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T4), another "Wipeout" (6.68 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T4) and "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (4.57 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6).

Next up was NBC (7.37 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with the premiere of "Breakthrough With Tony Robbins" (3.13 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9) followed by a two-hour "America's Got Talent" (9.49 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3).

Meanwhile, CBS (7.22 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) was all repeats with "NCIS" (9.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.21 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8) and "The Good Wife" (4.90 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "One Tree Hill" (0.83 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) and "Life Unexpected" (0.71 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) on The CW (0.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research