nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, june 7, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (6.92 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) took home top honors on Thursday with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.17 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1), "2 Broke Girls" (6.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T2), "Person of Interest" (6.91 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T4) and "The Mentalist" (6.65 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T4).

FOX (3.76 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then claimed the silver with the respective premieres of "Take Me Out" (3.31 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and "The Choice" (4.21 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T2).

Next up was ABC (5.30 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with original installments of "Duets" (5.23 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8) and "Rookie Blue" (5.42 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) was out the hunt with repeats of "The Office" (2.08 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) and "Parks & Recreation" (1.81 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) followed by the premiere of "Saving Hope" (3.12 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) and the time period debut of "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.16 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9).

And finally, a new "Breaking Pointe" (0.69 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.50 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) on The CW (0.60 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Pointe" posted a 0.3 rating while "Diaries" delivered a 0.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-7.14% - Rookie Blue
-12.50% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. 5/9/12)
-20.00% - Duets
-33.33% - Breaking Pointe

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-22.22% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Love Bites)
-22.22% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/Parks & Recreation (Repeat))
-29.17% - The Choice (vs. So You Think You Can Dance 8)
-33.33% - Breaking Pointe (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
-45.83% - Take Me Out (vs. So You Think You Can Dance 8)
-73.80% - Duets (vs. Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night/NBA Countdown/NBA Finals, Game 5)
-79.37% - Rookie Blue (vs. NBA Finals, Game 5)

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," 2.6/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/4.

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," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

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 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

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

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (6/9/11):

ABC (12.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday thanks to its surging coverage of the "NBA Finals, Game 5" (15.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.3, #1). Kicking off the night were pre-game specials "Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night" (7.06 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T3) and "NBA Countdown" (8.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2).

FOX (6.94 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then had to settle for second place with a two-hour "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.94 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T3).

Next up was CBS (7.24 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.31 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "Rules of Engagement" (6.01 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.39 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7) and "The Mentalist" (7.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) likewise served up encores of "Community" (2.08 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T12), "30 Rock" (2.02 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T12), "The Office" (2.30 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9), "Parks & Recreation" (1.97 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9) plus a new "Love Bites" (2.31 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.01 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) and "Nikita" (0.94 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) on The CW (0.97 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Love Bites (-10.00%), So You Think You Can Dance (-14.30%).

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," 2.7/6; and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.5/6. ABC's "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" were delayed by an NBA overrun.

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

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) 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 with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research