nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, september 12, 2012)

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

FOX (8.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) took home the top spot on Wednesday with the return of "The X Factor" (7.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #4) followed by a second episode of "The X Factor" (9.49 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1).

A year ago (9/21/11), "The X Factor" opened to a more potent 12.14 million viewers and a 4.2 adults 18-49 rating across the night.

NBC (8.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then had to settle for second place despite a special edition of "The Voice" (10.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2), the penultimate "America's Got Talent" (11.01 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3), the premiere of "Guys With Kids" (6.28 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #5) and a repeat of "The New Normal" (3.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7).

Next up was CBS (6.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with its mix of "Big Brother 14" (6.12 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.0, #6), "Criminal Minds" (5.62 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.43 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) offered up its all-repeat lineup of "The Middle" (3.71 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12), "Suburgatory" (3.01 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12), "Modern Family" (3.66 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8), another "Suburgatory" (2.75 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) and "Revenge" (2.51 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14).

And finally, an original "Oh Sit!" (0.93 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) plus a repeat of "Supernatural" (0.70 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (0.81 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Oh Sit!" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.2 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
26.09% - America's Got Talent (vs. 9/4/12)
0.00% - Oh Sit!
-4.76% - Big Brother 14

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
322.22% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Buried Treasure (Repeat))
250.00% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Buried Treasure)
-5.71% - The Voice (vs. America's Got Talent)
-17.14% - America's Got Talent
-33.33% - Oh Sit! (vs. H8R)
-40.54% - Guys With Kids (vs. Up All Night)
-41.18% - Big Brother 14 (vs. Survivor: South Pacific)

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 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.9/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/.4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.7/3; 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" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/14/11):

NBC (12.21 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday with the two-hour season finale of "America's Got Talent" (14.01 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) followed by the debuts of "Up All Night" (10.91 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) and "Free Agents" (6.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #5). "Up All Night's" demo number marks the best for a scripted program in its time period in over two years.

CBS (9.18 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then took home the silver with the 90-minute launch of "Survivor: South Pacific" (10.57 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3) alongside the 90-minute finale of "Big Brother 13" (7.78 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4).

Falling out of the hunt was ABC (4.50 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with repeats of "The Middle" (4.47 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9), another "The Middle" (4.59 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8), "Modern Family" (4.97 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T6), another "Modern Family" (4.73 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T6) and the season finale of "Primetime Nightline" (4.13 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9).

Next up was FOX (2.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) with the season finale of "Buried Treasure" (2.78 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #13) and an encore of "Buried Treasure" (3.05 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, the premiere of "H8R" (1.34 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #14) and the return of "America's Next Top Model" (1.91 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11) on The CW (1.63 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) closed out the night. Said numbers for "H8R" mark the smallest audience for an original program in its time period in over two years.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): America's Got Talent (25.0%), Big Brother 13 (3.6%), Primetime Nightline (-14.3%), Buried Treasure (-38.5%).

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.9/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

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" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research