nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, august 15, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (6.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) posted its best summer Monday in four years among adults 18-49 (since 8/13/07) thanks to new episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (6.83 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) and "Masterchef" (6.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2).

ABC (5.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then slid to second place with week two of "Bachelor Pad" (6.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) and a repeat of "Castle" (3.91 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Next up was CBS (4.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.12 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T6), "How I Met Your Mother" (4.56 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4), "Two and a Half Men" (5.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5), "Mike & Molly" (5.37 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T6) and "Hawaii Five-0" (5.05 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.01 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) offered up encores of "America's Got Talent" (4.38 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9) and "Harry's Law" (3.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11).

And finally, The CW (0.51 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening with repeats of "Gossip Girl" (0.59 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12) and "One Tree Hill" (0.43 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Masterchef (4.3%), Hell's Kitchen (3.7%), Bachelor Pad (-4.5%).

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," 2.2/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.0/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.1/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.1/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/2 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 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 (8/16/10):

CBS (6.31 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T1) claimed the top spots on Monday thanks to its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (5.02 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5), "Rules of Engagement" (5.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3), "Two and a Half Men" (8.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2), "The Big Bang Theory" (8.01 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) and "CSI: Miami" (5.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8).

Sharing the adults 18-49 crown as ABC (4.88 million viewers, #T2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T1) with new episodes of "Bachelor Pad" (5.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3) and "Dating in the Dark" (3.76 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7).

Next up was FOX (4.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with a repeat of "House" (3.56 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8) followed by a new "Lie to Me" (4.88 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.88 million viewers, #T2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up a two-hour "America's Got Talent" (4.72 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11) repeat alongside a new "Dateline NBC" (5.18 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.96 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12) and "Gossip Girl" (0.76 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12) on The CW (0.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (2.6/6) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.5/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.3/6). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.4/4) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.2/4) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.1/4) and "Daly" (0.8/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research