nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, november 22, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (15.66 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) moved top spot on Tuesday with the two-hour season finale of "Dancing With the Stars" (19.45 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1). Compared with last fall's finale (24.13 million viewers; adults 18-49: 5.3 on 11/23/10), "Dancing" however was down 19.39% in total viewers and 22.64% in adults 18-49, marking its lowest-rated November finale to date. Leading off the night were new episodes of "Last Man Standing" (9.33 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6) and "Man Up!" (6.79 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T9).

FOX (9.33 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) then took home the silver with special Tuesday installments of "The X Factor" (9.58 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4) and another "The X Factor" (9.08 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3).

Next was CBS (14.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) with new episodes of "NCIS" (18.45 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (14.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5) and "Unforgettable" (10.33 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #7) - all of which marked season lows.

Meanwhile, NBC (5.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) offered up fresh installments of "The Biggest Loser 12" (5.56 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #8) and - with a season low - "Parenthood" (4.54 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T9).

And finally, a new "90210" (1.26 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #11) lead into a repeat of "Hart of Dixie" (0.94 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) on The CW (1.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "90210" delivered a 0.9 rating while "Dixie" posted a 0.6 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+51.85% - Dancing With the Stars
+11.76% - Man Up!
+3.85% - Last Man Standing
0.00% - Parenthood
-4.76% - The Biggest Loser 12
-8.33% - Unforgettable
-9.09% - NCIS: Los Angeles
-11.11% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. 11/16/11)
-12.50% - NCIS
-14.29% - 90210
-19.51% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. 11/16/11)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - 90210 (vs. One Tree Hill (Repeat))
+57.14% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Raising Hope/Raising Hope (Repeat))
+50.00% - Last Man Standing (vs. No Ordinary Family)
+5.56% - Man Up! (vs. No Ordinary Family)
+4.76% - Unforgettable (vs. The Good Wife)
0.00% - Parenthood
-6.25% - NCIS: Los Angeles
-10.26% - NCIS
-16.67% - The Biggest Loser 12
-20.00% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Glee)
-22.64% - Dancing With the Stars

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," 2.7/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 4.9/11; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.4/7.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.6/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.5/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/23/10):

ABC (18.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) overshadowed the competition on Tuesday with the two-hour season finale of "Dancing With the Stars" (24.13 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.3, #1). Leading off the night was a new "No Ordinary Family" (7.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T9).

Compared with its 2009 fall swan song, "DWTS" was up 25.74% in viewers and 23.26% in adults 18-49.

CBS (14.56 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then had to settle for second place with new episodes of "NCIS" (18.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.9, #3), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (14.86 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4) and "The Good Wife" (10.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #7).

Next up was FOX (7.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3) with fresh installments of "Glee" (10.38 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2), "Raising Hope" (5.64 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5) and a repeat of "Raising Hope" (4.28 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T9).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4) offered up new episodes of "The Biggest Loser" (6.80 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5) and "Parenthood" (4.50 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #8).

And finally, repeats of "One Tree Hill" (0.92 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T11) and "Life Unexpected" (0.81 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T11) on The CW (0.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Dancing With the Stars (60.60%), No Ordinary Family (5.90%), Parenthood (5.60%), NCIS (0.00%), NCIS: Los Angeles (-3.00%), The Biggest Loser (-4.00%), The Good Wife (-4.50%), Raising Hope (-11.10%), Glee (-20.00%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (4.9/11) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.8/7) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.0/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (2.5/7) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.4/5) and "Daly" (0.8/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research