nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, september 6, 2012)

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

NBC (7.22 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) took home top honors with a special Thursday edition of "America's Got Talent" (7.60 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) followed by its two-hour "NBC News Special" (7.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2).

Second place then went to CBS (5.30 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.28 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3), "Two and a Half Men" (6.28 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5), "Big Brother 14" (6.09 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) and "CBS News Special" (3.03 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #9).

Next up was ABC (4.33 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with a new "Wipeout" (4.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6), the season finale of "Rookie Blue" (4.83 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #7) and an "ABC News Special" (3.67 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #8).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.82 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "Raising Hope" (2.00 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10), "New Girl" (1.73 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10) and "Glee" (1.78 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #12).

And finally, a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.79 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T13) alongside a new "The Next" (0.63 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T13) closed out the evening on The CW (0.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "The Vampire Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating while "The Next" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-4.35% - Big Brother 14 -18.75% - Wipeout -20.00% - Rookie Blue -28.00% - America's Got Talent -40.00% - The Next

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - The Next (vs. Plain Jane (Repeat)) +20.00% - Rookie Blue (vs. Rookie Blue) 0.00% - Wipeout (vs. Wipeout (Repeat)) -8.33% - Big Brother 14 -78.31% - America's Got Talent (vs. NFL Kickoff Party '11/Sunday Night Football)

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," 2.4/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.5/4; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.4/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.4/2; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.8/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1).

· 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 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/8/11):

NBC (24.47 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.5, #1) overshadowed the competition with the return of "Sunday Night Football" (25.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.2, #1) and its "NFL Kickoff Party '11" (18.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.4, #2).

CBS (5.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then snagged a distant silver with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4), "CBS Fall Preview" (5.85 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5), "Big Brother 13" (6.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) and "The Mentalist" (4.65 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Next up was ABC (4.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (5.13 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6) followed by a new "Rookie Blue" (4.48 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8) and the season finale of "Rookie Blue" (5.02 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #7).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) was out of the hunt with encores of "Bones" (3.00 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11) and a second "Bones" (3.54 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.98 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and "Plain Jane" (0.69 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.84 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Rookie Blue (-25.0%), Big Brother 13 (-29.4%).

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

Currently not available.

Source: Nielsen Media Research