nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, march 7, 2013)

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

FOX (10.557 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) slipped into the top spot on Thursday with a special 90-minute "American Idol" (12.892 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3) and a new "Glee" (7.053 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.5, #5).

CBS (12.868 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) then had to settle for second place despite originals from "The Big Bang Theory" (17.432 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.4, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (13.556 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2), "Person of Interest" (14.393 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4) and a repeat of "Elementary" (8.717 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6).

Next up was ABC (3.932 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3) and its all-repeat lineup of "Shark Tank" (4.397 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), "Grey's Anatomy" (3.702 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9) and "Scandal" (3.698 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.009 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3) offered up a new "Community" (3.362 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7), repeats of "Parks & Recreation" (2.344 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) and "The Office" (2.420 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9) plus an original "1600 Penn" (2.181 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14) and a rebroadcast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.872 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.056 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Beauty and the Beast" (0.757 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (0.906 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.5 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.2 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+47.06% - Glee (vs. 2/14/13)
+36.36% - Community
0.00% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 2/21/13)
0.00% - Two and a Half Men (vs. 2/21/13)
0.00% - 1600 Penn
-3.45% - Person of Interest (vs. 2/21/13)
-7.89% - American Idol

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+8.70% - Glee (vs. The Finder)
+7.14% - Community (vs. 30 Rock)
+5.88% - The Big Bang Theory
-2.50% - Two and a Half Men (vs. The Big Bang Theory (Repeat))
-17.65% - Person of Interest
-27.08% - American Idol
-47.06% - 1600 Penn (vs. Up All Night)

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," 2.5/7 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.3/6.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 Wednesday results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.8/4.

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.4/5 in metered-market households and a 0.5/3 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

* From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.1/4 in metered-market households with an encore) trailed CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49 with an encore) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

* 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 (3/8/12):

CBS (14.54 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #T1) and FOX (12.13 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #T1) split the demo crown on Thursday as the latter offered up a new "American Idol" (16.98 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.8, #2) and the Friday-bound "The Finder" (7.28 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

The Eye then offered up a new "The Big Bang Theory" (15.22 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1), a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (12.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.0, #3) and new episodes of "Person of Interest" (15.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #4) and "The Mentalist" (13.79 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #5).

NBC (4.05 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) then claimed the bronze with its mix of "30 Rock" (3.49 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T11), "Parks & Recreation" (3.77 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #8) - which is taking a break until April 19, "The Office" (4.97 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.6, #6), "Up All Night" (3.54 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #9) and "Awake" (4.25 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10).

Next up was ABC (4.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) with its repeat lineup of "Winter Wipeout" (4.56 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T13), "Grey's Anatomy" (4.09 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T11) and "GCB" (3.84 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T13).

And finally, encores of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.17 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Supernatural" (0.89 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.03 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.3 rating while "Supernatural" delivered a 0.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+15.00% - The Finder (vs. 2/23/12)
+12.00% - The Mentalist (vs. 2/23/12)
+11.76% - Parks & Recreation
+9.68% - Person of Interest (vs. 2/23/12)
+6.25% - Up All Night
+4.00% - The Office
0.00% - 30 Rock
-1.92% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 2/23/12)
-5.88% - American Idol
-15.79% - Awake

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+137.50% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Perfect Couples (Repeat))
+85.71% - The Office (vs. The Office (Repeat))
+60.00% - Awake (vs. 30 Rock (Repeat)/Outsourced (Repeat))
+54.55% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation (Repeat))
+40.00% - 30 Rock (vs. Community (Repeat))
+34.21% - The Big Bang Theory
+9.68% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-6.67% - The Mentalist
-26.15% - American Idol
-32.35% - The Finder (vs. Bones)

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," 2.4/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; 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," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.8/4; 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 original "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 with an encore in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research