nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, september 8, 2011)

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

NBC (24.47 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.5, #1) overshadowed the competition with the return of "Sunday Night Football" (25.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.2, #1) and its "NFL Kickoff Party '11" (18.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.4, #2).

CBS (5.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then snagged a distant silver with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4), "CBS Fall Preview" (5.85 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5), "Big Brother 13" (6.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) and "The Mentalist" (4.65 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Next up was ABC (4.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (5.13 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6) followed by a new "Rookie Blue" (4.48 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) and the season finale of "Rookie Blue" (5.02 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #7).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) was out of the hunt with encores of "Bones" (3.00 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11) and a second "Bones" (3.54 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.98 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and "Plain Jane" (0.69 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.84 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Rookie Blue (-25.0%), Big Brother 13 (-29.4%).

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

Currently not available.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/9/10):

NBC (22.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.8, #1) demolished its limited competition on Thursday thanks to the return of "Sunday Night Football" (24.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.5, #1). Leading off the eveningw as the "NFL Kick-Off Show" (15.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.6, #2).

Battling for leftovers then was CBS (6.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) with a new "Big Brother 12" (7.72 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) followed by repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.00 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) and "The Mentalist" (6.64 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

Snagging the bronze was The CW (3.46 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with the return of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.35 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) and the launch of "Nikita" (3.57 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T5).

Compared with a year ago, "Nikita" was on par with "Supernatural" (3.39 million viewers; adults 18-49: 1.5 on 9/10/09) however with "The Vampire Diaries" (4.84 million viewers; adults 18-49: 2.1 on 9/10/09) down, the newcomer actually built off its lead-in amongst total viewers and held 87.5% of its adults 18-49 audience.

Meanwhile, ABC (4.96 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up a repeat of "Wipeout" (5.15 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T5), a new "Rookie Blue" (4.99 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) and the season finale of "Rookie Blue" (4.74 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10).

And finally, repeats of "Bones" (4.52 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) and "Fringe" (2.47 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12) on FOX (3.50 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research