nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, august 18, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for FOX are approximate. Due to local NFL preseason preemptions, Fast Nationals for CBS are inflated.

FOX (8.36 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its coverage of the "NFL Preseason: Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh" (8.36 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T1).

CBS (6.95 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.30 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3), "Rules of Engagement" (6.50 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3), "Big Brother 13" (7.97 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T1) and "The Mentalist" (5.99 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

Next up was ABC (5.30 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with its all-original lineup of "Wipeout" (6.70 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3), "Expedition Impossible" (4.58 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6) and "Rookie Blue" (4.63 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) was out of the hunt with its repeat mix of "Community" (2.17 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13), "Parks & Recreation" (1.83 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12), "The Office" (2.51 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), "30 Rock" (2.45 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.05 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11).

And finally, rebroadcasts of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.12 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #14) and "Plain Jane" (0.92 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #15) on The CW (1.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Wipeout (0.0%), Big Brother 13 (-6.3%), Rookie Blue (-14.3%), Expedition Impossible (-18.8%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets (with Kansas City currently delayed), household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.2/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.0/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 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; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.0/4 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/19/10):

Coverage of the "NFL Preseason: Patriots at Falcons" (5.56 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) proved to be enough for FOX (5.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) to take home the adults 18-49 crown on Thursday.

CBS (6.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then had to settle for second place with a new "Big Brother 12" (7.45 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) followed by repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (5.61 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6) and "The Mentalist" (6.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

Next up was ABC (5.71 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (6.57 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3), a new "Rookie Blue" (6.43 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) and the launch of "Nightlineprime: Secrets of Your Mind - Why We Do What We Do" (4.15 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

Meanwhile, it was all repeats on NBC (2.95 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) with its mix of "Community" (2.59 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12), "30 Rock" (2.63 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11), "The Office" (2.64 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9), "Parks & Recreation" (2.31 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.77 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.60 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T13) and "Moonlight" (1.40 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T13) on The CW (1.50 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

In late-night metered market ratings, NBC's "Leno" (2.4/6) took top honors over ABC's "Nightline" (2.6/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.1/5). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.3/4) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.1/4) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.6/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research