nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, august 30, 2012)

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

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to significant local NFL pre-season pre-emptions, Fast Nationals for FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC are inflated.]

CBS (5.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (6.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3), "Big Brother 14" (6.51 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) and its "CBS News Special" (3.47 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

ABC (5.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then claimed the silver with originals from "Wipeout" (5.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) and "Rookie Blue" (5.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) plus its "ABC News Special" (4.17 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

Next up was FOX (3.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with rebroadcasts from "Raising Hope" (3.34 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7), "New Girl" (3.40 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #6) and "Glee" (3.65 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up repeats of "The Office" (3.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and "Parks & Recreation" (3.06 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) followed by the Saturday-bound "Saving Hope" (4.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and its "NBC News Special" (3.31 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14).

And finally, a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.31 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) lead into week three of "The Next" (1.27 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) - a series high - on The CW (1.29 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "The Vampire Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating while "The Next" posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - The Next
+37.50% - Saving Hope
+25.00% - Rookie Blue
+4.55% - Big Brother 14
-5.88% - Wipeout

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - The Next (vs. Plain Jane (Repeat))
+7.14% - Rookie Blue (vs. Rookie Blue (Repeat))
-11.11% - Wipeout (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
-32.35% - Big Brother 14
-37.14% - 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," 1.9/5; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.4/4; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.0/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.1/4 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.6/3; "Late Show," 0.3/2; "Nightline," 0.7/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3 with an encore.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.8/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/1/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to significant local NFL pre-season pre-emptions, Fast Nationals for FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC are inflated.]

CBS (8.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) overshadowed the competition on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.91 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3), another "The Big Bang Theory" (8.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2), "Big Brother 13" (9.68 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "The Mentalist" (7.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Second place then went to ABC (5.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T2) with repeats of "Wipeout" (6.55 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5) and "Rookie Blue" (5.92 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12) followed by a new "Rookie Blue" (5.85 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T8).

Sharing the silver was NBC (4.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T2) with encores of "Community" (4.57 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12), "Parks & Recreation" (4.49 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T8), "The Office" (5.02 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5), "30 Rock" (4.65 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T8).

Meanwhile, FOX (5.26 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up repeats of "Bones" (5.00 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #14) and another "Bones" (5.52 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.07 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) and "Plain Jane" (1.14 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) on The CW (1.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Rookie Blue (23.1%), Big Brother 13 (6.3%), Wipeout (-5.3%).

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," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 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