nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, march 26, 2012)

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

NBC (9.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) was the network to beat on Monday thanks to new episodes of "The Voice" (11.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1) and "Smash" (6.36 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4).

ABC (15.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then claimed the silver with fresh installments of "Dancing With the Stars" (17.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) and "Castle" (12.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3).

Next up was CBS (6.39 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (5.70 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T7), "2 Broke Girls" (6.12 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.0, #6), "Two and a Half Men" (7.08 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4), "Mike & Molly" (6.28 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T7) and "Hawaii Five-0" (6.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9).

Meanwhile, FOX (4.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up a new "Alcatraz" (4.71 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T10) followed by the season finale of "Alcatraz" (4.74 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T10).

And finally, the feature "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (0.95 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) on The CW (0.95 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), the film delivered a 0.6 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Castle
0.00% - Alcatraz - 9:00
-2.22% - The Voice
-4.35% - Smash
-11.43% - Dancing With the Stars

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+319.05% - The Voice (vs. All Together Now: A Celebration of Service/The Event)
+37.50% - Smash (vs. Harry's Law)
+36.36% - Alcatraz - 9:00 (vs. The Chicago Code (Repeat))
0.00% - Alcatraz - 8:00 (vs. House (Repeat))
-27.27% - Castle
-39.22% - 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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.7/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/6.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat 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) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 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 (3/28/11):

ABC (19.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) overshadowed the competition on Monday with week two of "Dancing With the Stars" (22.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1) and a new "Castle" (12.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2).

CBS (6.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) then took home the leftovers with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (5.65 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T5), "Mad Love" (5.63 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4), "Two and a Half Men" (7.61 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3), "Mike & Molly" (7.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T5) and "Hawaii Five-0" (5.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8).

Next up was FOX (4.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with repeats of "House" (4.83 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8) and "The Chicago Code" (3.97 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.59 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) was out of the hunt with its combination of "All Together Now: A Celebration of Service" (4.20 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12), "The Event" (4.36 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10) and "Harry's Law" (8.21 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.76 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.54 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Dancing With the Stars (0.00%), Castle (0.00%), Harry's Law (0.00%), The Event (0.00%), Mad Love (-8.70%).

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," 3.0/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.8/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.8/6.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research