nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, august 14, 2012)

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

NBC (7.88 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) was back in front on Tuesday with the return of "America's Got Talent" (9.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) followed by an encore of "Stars Earn Stripes" (3.99 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4).

FOX (5.39 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then had to settle for second place with night two of "Hotel Hell" (5.09 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) alongside the return of "MasterChef" (5.70 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2).

Next up was CBS (6.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its all-repeat lineup of "NCIS" (7.16 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (6.34 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5) and "The Mentalist" (5.90 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) was out of the hunt with its mix of "The Middle" (3.24 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9), "Last Man Standing" (2.74 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9), "Happy Endings" (1.85 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) and "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" (1.67 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) plus a new "NY Med" (4.20 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #8).

And finally on The CW (0.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5), a repeat of "Hart of Dixie" (0.77 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and a new "The L.A. Complex" (0.53 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Dixie" delivered a 0.3 rating while "Complex" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - The L.A. Complex
+42.86% - NY Med
+3.85% - America's Got Talent (vs. 7/24/12)
-7.69% - MasterChef (vs. 7/24/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):

+45.95% - America's Got Talent (vs. It's Worth What?/America's Got Talent)
+11.11% - NY Med (vs. Combat Hospital)
-12.50% - Hotel Hell (vs. MasterChef)
-14.29% - MasterChef (vs MasterChef)
-33.33% - The L.A. Complex (vs. Shedding for the Wedding (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," 2.2/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; 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," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.1/4 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/2 with an encore).

· 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.

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/16/11):

FOX (6.54 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) rose to the top on Tuesday with the penultimate episode of "Masterchef" (6.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) followed by the season finale of "Masterchef" (7.00 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1).

NBC (8.07 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then claimed the silver with fresh installments of "It's Worth What?" (4.07 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9) and "America's Got Talent" (10.06 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2).

Next up was ABC (4.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (5.45 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) followed by new episodes of "Take the Money and Run" (3.63 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5) and "Combat Hospital" (3.63 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Meanwhile, CBS (7.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up repeats of "NCIS" (8.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #7), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6) and "Hawaii Five-0" (5.84 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #8).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.99 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #11) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (0.74 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) on The CW (0.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Masterchef (12.0%), Combat Hospital (0.0%), America's Got Talent (-6.9%), It's Worth What? (-9.1%), Take the Money and Run (-22.2%).

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 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.0/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; 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," 0.9/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research