nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, october 3, 2011)

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

CBS (12.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.3, #1) was still the network to beat on Monday with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.50 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.5, #2), "2 Broke Girls" (11.37 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.4, #3), "Two and a Half Men" (17.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.1, #1), "Mike & Molly" (13.24 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.3, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (10.88 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6).

FOX (9.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) then took home the silver with week two of "Terra Nova" (8.31 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.0, #8) and the return of "House" (9.77 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.9, #5).

Next up was ABC (14.86 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) with fresh installments of "Dancing With the Stars" (16.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #7) and "Castle" (11.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.38 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) offered up new episodes of "The Sing-Off" (4.88 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #10) and "The Playboy Club" (3.39 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11).

And finally, new episodes of "Gossip Girl" (1.45 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13) and "Hart of Dixie" (1.78 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12) on The CW (1.62 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) rounded out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Gossip Girl" delivered a 1.5 rating while "Dixie" posted a 1.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+5.88% - The Sing-Off
+2.27% - How I Met Your Mother
0.00% - Terra Nova (8:00 vs. 8:00)
0.00% - Hart of Dixie
-2.22% - 2 Broke Girls
-3.03% - Hawaii Five-0
-6.06% - Dancing With the Stars
-7.69% - The Playboy Club
-10.34% - Castle
-12.24% - Mike & Molly
-12.50% - Gossip Girl
-15.28% - Two and a Half Men

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+77.27% - House (vs. Lie to Me)
+46.67% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+35.56% - Two and a Half Men
+32.35% - How I Met Your Mother
+13.16% - Mike & Molly
-8.57% - Hawaii Five-0
-13.33% - Castle
-16.28% - The Sing-Off (vs. Chuck/The Event)
-23.08% - Terra Nova (vs. House)
-27.27% - Hart of Dixie (vs. Gossip Girl)
-29.41% - The Playboy Club (vs. Chase)
-29.55% - Dancing With the Stars
-30.00% - Gossip Girl (vs. 90210)

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," 2.3/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.6/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/3; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.1/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) tied CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/4/10):

ABC (17.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) retained top honors on Monday thanks to new episodes of "Dancing With the Stars" (20.12 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #2) and "Castle" (11.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T7).

The silver once again went to CBS (11.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2) with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.58 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.4, #6), "Rules of Engagement" (8.45 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T7), "Two and a Half Men" (14.24 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1), "Mike & Molly" (12.29 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (12.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.5, #5).

Next up was FOX (8.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3) with a new "House" (10.53 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.9, #3) and the return of "Lie to Me" (5.97 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) offered up new episodes of "Chuck" (5.36 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11), "The Event" (7.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.4, #9) and "Chase" (5.83 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "90210" (1.92 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) and "Gossip Girl" (2.12 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) on The CW (2.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Gossip Girl (10.00%), House (5.40%), Mike & Molly (2.70%), Hawaii Five-0 (0.00%), Chuck (-5.00%), Two and a Half Men (-6.30%), Castle (-6.30%), Rules of Engagement (-6.30%), Dancing With the Stars (-8.30%), 90210 (-9.10%), How I Met Your Mother (-10.50%), The Event (-17.20%), Chase (-19.00%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.5/8) took top honors ahead of CBS's "Letterman" (2.9/7) and NBC's "Leno" (2.7/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.6/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.3/5) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research