nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, july 26, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (6.41 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) pulled in front on Thursday with a special two-hour "Wipeout" (6.74 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) and a new "Rookie Blue" (5.75 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5).

CBS (5.23 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.85 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) and "Two and a Half Men" (6.77 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) alongside a new "Big Brother 14" (6.00 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) and the debut of "3" (2.39 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7).

Next up was FOX (2.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with the season finale of "Take Me Out" (2.86 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #6) alongside a repeat of "Glee" (1.68 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.91 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up second runs of "The Office" (2.55 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #9) and "Parks & Recreation" (1.69 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T10) plus originals from "Saving Hope" (2.86 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T10) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.73 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T7).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.00 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and "The L.A. Complex" (0.54 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) The CW (0.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.5 rating while "Complex" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+37.50% - Wipeout
+20.00% - Saving Hope
+14.29% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+7.14% - Rookie Blue
0.00% - Big Brother 14
0.00% - Take Me Out

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.71% - Wipeout (vs. Wipeout/Expedition Impossible)
+15.38% - Rookie Blue
-11.11% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-15.38% - Big Brother 14
-29.41% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))
-29.41% - Take Me Out (vs. So You Think You Can Dance 8)
-33.33% - 3 (vs. The Mentalist (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," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.7/4; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

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" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

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.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/28/11):

CBS (6.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.07 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T2), "Rules of Engagement" (5.70 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T5), "Big Brother 13" (6.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) and "The Mentalist" (6.12 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8).

Second place then went to ABC (5.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) with its all-original lineup of "Wipeout" (6.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T2), "Expedition Impossible" (5.02 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T5) and "Rookie Blue" (4.88 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7).

Next up was FOX (4.38 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.29 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) and a repeat of "Glee" (3.47 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.55 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) was back to all repeats with its combination of "Community" (2.16 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14), "Parks & Recreation" (2.09 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13), "The Office" (2.34 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "30 Rock" (2.05 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.32 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.11 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) and "Plain Jane" (0.79 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (0.95 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Expedition Impossible (23.1%), Rookie Blue (8.3%), So You Think You Can Dance (6.3%), Wipeout (5.6%), Big Brother 13 (4.0%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/7; 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," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.6/4; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 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" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research