nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for sunday, july 31, 2011)

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

[EDITOR'S NOTE: President Obama broke into primetime on ABC, CBS and NBC from approximately 8:40-8:50p ET. CBS slid their night from there while ABC and NBC re-joined their programs in progress.]

CBS (6.61 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) topped the charts on Sunday with its mix of "60 Minutes" (8.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8), "Big Brother 13" (8.06 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1), "Same Name" (4.41 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7) and "CSI: Miami" (5.15 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9).

FOX (3.14 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "American Dad" (1.98 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13), "Bob's Burgers" (2.08 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12), "The Simpsons" (3.58 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4), "The Cleveland Show" (3.32 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4), "Family Guy" (4.18 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) and another "American Dad" (3.70 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3).

Next up was ABC (5.04 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.81 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10) and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.50 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10) followed by the special "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All" (5.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4).

And finally, "Dateline NBC: Taking the Hill - Inside Congress" (4.28 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #16), an encore of "America's Got Talent" (4.01 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13) and a new "The Marriage Ref" (2.89 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13) on NBC (3.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Big Brother 13 (16.7%), Same Name (-6.7%), The Marriage Ref (-10.0%).

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/1/10):

CBS (6.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) was the network to beat on Sunday thanks to its mix of "60 Minutes" (7.80 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9), "Big Brother 12" (7.10 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1), "Undercover Boss" (5.97 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) and "The Good Wife" (4.08 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

Sharing the adults 18-49 crown was FOX (3.46 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) with the series finale of "Sons of Tucson" (1.70 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.6, #17) followed by repeats of "American Dad" (2.11 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11), "The Simpsons" (3.93 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "The Cleveland Show" (3.68 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6), "Family Guy" (4.59 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T2) and a second "Family Guy" (4.74 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T2).

Next up was ABC (4.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.20 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7) and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8) leading into new episodes of "Scoundrels" (3.22 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) and "The Gates" (2.83 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, "Dateline NBC" (3.16 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #16), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (4.31 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11) and "America's Got Talent" (4.13 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10) on NBC (3.93 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research