nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, october 18, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (13.06 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) was the top draw on Thursday with its surging comedies "The Big Bang Theory" (15.40 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) and "Two and a Half Men" (13.60 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) followed by new episodes of dramas "Person of Interest" (13.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4) and "Elementary" (10.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5).

ABC (7.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then snagged a silver medal with original episodes of "Last Resort" (7.32 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #8), "Grey's Anatomy" (9.48 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3) and "Scandal" (6.42 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T6).

Next up was FOX (5.51 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) with its coverage of the "NLCS, Game 4" (5.51 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.53 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) offered up its mix of "30 Rock" (3.33 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12), "Up All Night" (3.24 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T10), "The Office" (4.27 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T6), "Parks & Recreation" (3.43 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.45 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14).

And finally, week two of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.74 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13) and "Beauty and the Beast" (2.03 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) closed out the night on The CW (2.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 1.9 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 1.1 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+17.65% - Two and a Half Men
+16.67% - Up All Night
+11.90% - The Big Bang Theory
+6.25% - Last Resort
-4.76% - Scandal (vs. 10/4/12)
-4.76% - The Office (vs. 10/4/12)
-7.14% - 30 Rock
-9.68% - Person of Interest (vs. 10/4/12)
-10.81% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. 10/4/12)
-11.54% - Elementary (vs. 10/4/12)
-15.79% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 10/4/12)
-18.18% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. 10/4/12)
-25.00% - The Vampire Diaries
-46.15% - Beauty and the Beast

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+45.45% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Whitney (Repeat))
+44.44% - 30 Rock (vs. Community (Repeat))
+41.67% - Last Resort (Vs. Charlie's Angels)
+33.33% - The Office (vs. The Office (Repeat))
+27.27% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation (Repeat))
+12.50% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Prime Suspect (Repeat))
+8.11% - Two and a Half Men (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+3.70% - Person of Interest
-4.08% - The Big Bang Theory
-5.71% - Grey's Anatomy
-7.69% - The Vampire Diaries
-8.00% - Elementary (vs. The Mentalist)
-16.67% - Scandal (vs. Private Practice)
-22.22% - Beauty and the Beast (vs. The Secret Circle)

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," 2.3/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.3/9 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.9/4 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/4.

* At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) trailed CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.7/6). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49 with an encore) trailed "Late Late Show" (0.5/4).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 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 (10/20/11):

FOX (12.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) was still the network to beat on Thursday with its coverage of the "World Series, Game 2" (12.91 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #T2).

CBS (12.62 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) then snagged the silver with a new "The Big Bang Theory" (14.69 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1), the return of "Rules of Engagement" (11.47 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #T2) and new episodes of "Person of Interest" (12.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #5) and "The Mentalist" (12.50 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #6).

Next up was ABC (7.18 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) with fresh installments of "Charlie's Angels" (5.63 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10), "Grey's Anatomy" (9.36 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.5, #4) and "Private Practice" (6.56 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7).

Meanwhile, The CW (2.48 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) moved up to fourth place with new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.85 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9) and "The Secret Circle" (2.11 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 1.9 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.2 rating.

And finally, repeats of "Community" (2.47 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13), "Parks & Recreation" (2.50 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11), "The Office" (3.24 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8), "Whitney" (2.60 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) and "Prime Suspect" (2.79 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) on NBC (2.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.50% - The Secret Circle
+11.36% - The Big Bang Theory
+2.94% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Person of Interest
0.00% - Private Practice
0.00% - The Mentalist
-7.14% - The Vampire Diaries
-7.69% - Charlie's Angels

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+22.50% - The Big Bang Theory
+19.35% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
0.00% - Charlie's Angels (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
-10.00% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita)
-10.26% - Grey's Anatomy
-13.79% - The Mentalist
-14.29% - Private Practice
-18.18% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-18.75% - The Vampire Diaries

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 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; 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," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) trailed CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5). 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).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research