nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, august 2, 2011)

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

FOX (6.00 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) claimed top honors on Tuesday with fresh installments of "Hell's Kitchen" (6.17 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) and "Masterchef" (5.84 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3).

NBC (9.32 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then was the most-watched network with new episodes of "It's Worth What?" (4.80 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8) and "America's Got Talent" (11.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1).

Next up was ABC (5.13 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with a special "Wipeout" (6.49 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) followed by the premiere of "Take the Money and Run" (5.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5) and a new "Combat Hospital" (3.75 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9).

Meanwhile, CBS (7.42 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up repeats of "NCIS" (9.52 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T6), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.96 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T6) and "48 Hours Mystery" (4.79 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.72 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (0.40 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) on The CW (0.56 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Combat Hospital (11.1%), Hell's Kitchen (0.0%), Masterchef (0.0%), America's Got Talent (-3.3%), It's Worth What? (-14.3%).

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.1/3.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 0.8/4; 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). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/3/10):

New episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (7.07 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) and "Masterchef" (5.90 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #4) put FOX (6.48 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) in front on Tuesday.

NBC (7.71 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) however was tops in total viewers with week two of "Breakthrough With Tony Robbins" (2.77 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #10) and a two-hour "America's Got Talent" (10.18 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3).

Next up was ABC (6.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) with a new "Wipeout" (8.84 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) followed by the season premiere of "Shaq Vs." (5.44 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5) and a repeat of "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (4.74 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6).

Meanwhile, CBS (7.11 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) was all repeats with its mix of "NCIS" (8.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7) and "The Good Wife" (5.23 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #9).

And finally, an encore of "Plain Jane" (1.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #11) lead into the premiere of "18 to Life" (1.01 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) and a second "18 to Life" (0.86 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) on The CW (1.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research