nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, august 31, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (4.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) went into the holiday weekend on top with its all-repeat lineup of "Shark Tank" (3.95 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3), "20/20" (4.56 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) and another "20/20" (3.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2).

CBS (3.95 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then claimed the silver with its own second run mix of "Undercover Boss" (3.69 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3), "CSI: NY" (3.47 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10) and "Blue Bloods" (4.68 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7).

Next up was FOX (3.00 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with repeats of "Bones" (3.06 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) and a second "Bones" (2.93 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.96 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up encores of "America's Got Talent" (3.09 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Grimm" (2.05 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #11) plus a new "Dateline NBC" (3.74 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5).

And finally, week two of "America's Next Top Model" (1.12 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) and a repeat of "Nikita" (0.64 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.88 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-20.00% - America's Next Top Model
-33.33% - Dateline NBC

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Nikita (Repeat))
-33.33% - Dateline NBC

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," 1.8/4 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4 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," 0.4/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2 with an encore.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore) tied "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.

[NOTE: Today's numbers are courtesy of TVMediaInsights.com due to delays from our usual sources.]

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/2/11):

NBC (3.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) edged out the competition on Friday with new episodes of "Friends With Benefits" (2.38 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Dateline NBC" (4.71 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1).

CBS (5.08 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) then remained the most-watched network with its all-repeat lineup of "48 Hours Mystery" (5.39 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3), "CSI: NY" (4.71 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Blue Bloods" (5.13 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5).

Next up was FOX (2.26 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) with encores of "Kitchen Nightmares" (2.76 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) and "Fringe" (1.75 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) offered up its mix of "Shark Tank" (3.52 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5), "Karaoke Battle USA" (2.92 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "20/20" (4.14 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4).

And finally, repeats of "Nikita" (1.33 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11) and "Supernatural" (1.01 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11) on The CW (1.17 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) once again closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Friends With Benefits (16.7%), Dateline NBC (-14.3%), 20/20 (-25.0%), Karaoke Battle USA (-30.0%).

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

Not available at press time.

Source: Nielsen Media Research