nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, july 12, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (7.07 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) pulled in front on Thursday with the return of "Big Brother 14" (7.09 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2). Bookending said premiere were repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3), another "The Big Bang Theory" (9.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) and "Person of Interest" (5.62 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

ABC (5.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then claimed the silver with originals from "Duets" (4.75 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10), "Wipeout" (5.60 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) and "Rookie Blue" (4.78 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5).

Next up was FOX (3.00 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with a new "Take Me Out" (3.00 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6) followed by the season finale of "The Choice" (3.01 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up repeats of "The Office" (2.07 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) and "Parks & Recreation" (1.69 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) plus originals from "Saving Hope" (3.18 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #13) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (5.24 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.86 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #14) and a second "The Vampire Diaries" (0.72 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #15) on The CW (0.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounding out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.5 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+25.00% - Saving Hope
0.00% - Wipeout
0.00% - Rookie Blue
0.00% - Duets
-7.69% - Take Me Out
-25.00% - The Choice

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+71.43% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Love Bites)
+33.33% - The Choice (vs. Glee (Repeat))
+30.77% - Wipeout (vs. Expedition Impossible)
+13.04% - Big Brother 14
-7.14% - Rookie Blue (vs. Rookie Blue)
-25.00% - Take Me Out (vs. So You Think You Can Dance 8)
-44.44% - Duets (vs. Wipeout)
-47.37% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))

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," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.4/2; "Nightline," 1.0/4; 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" (1.0/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 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 0.8/3 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 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/14/11):

CBS (6.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) held onto top honors on Thursday thanks to its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T3), "Rules of Engagement" (4.85 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), "Big Brother 13" (6.48 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) and "The Mentalist" (6.40 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

ABC (5.45 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then had to settle for the silver with its original lineup of "Wipeout" (6.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2), "Expedition Impossible" (4.64 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and "Rookie Blue" (5.33 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

Next up was FOX (4.08 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.21 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T3) and a repeat of "Glee" (2.94 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up repeats of "Community" (2.25 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12),"Parks & Recreation" (2.01 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), "The Office" (2.58 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9), "30 Rock" (2.40 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10) and a new "Love Bites" (1.99 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.04 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) and "Nikita" (1.20 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) on The CW (1.12 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): So You Think You Can Dance (0.00%), Love Bites (0.00%), Rookie Blue (-6.67%), Wipeout (-10.00%), Big Brother 13 (-14.81%), Expedition Impossible (-18.75%).

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," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3//6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 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 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research