nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, september 19, 2011)

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

CBS (15.73 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.7, #1) kicked off the 2011-12 season on top thanks to the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother (11.26 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.7, #4), a second How I Met Your Mother (S) (12.24 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 5.1, #3), the return of Two and a Half Men (27.76 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.3, #1), the premiere of 2 Broke Girls (19.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 7.0, #2) and the season opener to Hawaii Five-0 (12.00 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.4, #6).

ABC (16.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #2) however was the most-watched network with the season premieres of Dancing With the Stars (18.57 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.9, #5) and Castle (13.60 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #7).

Next up was FOX (5.87 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) with a new Hell's Kitchen (5.85 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.5, #9) followed by the season finale of Hell's Kitchen (5.88 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.6, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.13 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) was out of the hunt with the return of The Sing-Off (5.20 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10) alongside the debut of The Playboy Club (5.01 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #11).

And finally, encores of H8R (1.20 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and Ringer (1.01 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) on The CW (1.11 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "H8R" posted a 0.7 rating while "Ringer" delivered a 0.6 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+8.33% - Hell's Kitchen

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+114.58% - Two and a Half Men
+100.00% - Hell's Kitchen - 9:00 (vs. Lone Star)
+79.49% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. Mike & Molly)
+64.52% - How I Met Your Mother (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+30.56% - How I Met Your Mother
+17.86% - Castle
-10.53% - Hawaii Five-0
-20.41% - Dancing With the Stars
-34.48% - The Sing-Off (vs. Chuck/The Event)
-36.00% - The Playboy Club (vs. Chase)
-40.48% - Hell's Kitchen - 8:00 (vs. House)

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.5/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.5/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households with an encore) tied CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households 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 (9/20/10):

The season premieres of "Dancing With the Stars" (21.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1) and "Castle" (11.17 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #9) helped ABC (17.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) open the 2010-11 season on top.

CBS (11.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2) then had to settle for second place with the respective launches of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.78 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.6, #7), "Rules of Engagement" (8.33 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.1, #8), "Two and a Half Men" (14.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.8, #2), "Mike & Molly" (12.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.9, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (13.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #5).

Next up was NBC (8.40 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3) with the return of "Chuck" (6.06 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #11) followed by the bows of "The Event" (11.19 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #6) and "Chase" (7.94 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.5, #10).

"The Event's" debut topped every airing on Monday nights last season for the Peacock, save for the Olympics and the first episode of "The Jay Leno Show." Same for "Chase," although that's limited to the 10:00/9:00c hour.

Meanwhile, FOX (7.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #4) served up the season premiere of "House" (10.54 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.2, #3) and the debut of "Lone Star" (4.06 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12).

Said launch of "Lone Star" came in below every first-run airing of previous time period holders "Lie to Me," "24" (low: "Lie to Me's" December 14 episode with a 2.2 rating in the key demographic).

And finally, new episodes of "90210" (2.16 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) and "Gossip Girl" (1.87 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) on The CW (2.01 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) rounded out the evening.

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.1/7) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.1/8) took top honors ahead of NBC's "Leno" (2.8/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.4/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.3/5) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research