nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, march 15, 2013)

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

CBS (7.960 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T1) was the top draw on Friday with repeats of "Undercover Boss" (6.500 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5) and "Hawaii Five-0" (6.368 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) followed by a new "Blue Bloods" (11.014 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1).

ABC (5.753 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T1) however shared the demo crown with its mix of "Last Man Standing" (6.398 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5) and "Malibu Country" (5.518 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9) originals, a repeat of "Shark Tank" (5.598 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) and a new "20/20" (5.703 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3).

Next up was NBC (3.618 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with fresh installments of "Fashion Star" (2.960 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #10), "Grimm" (4.883 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.011 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.727 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up new episodes of "Kitchen Nightmares" (3.062 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and "Touch" (2.394 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #12).

And finally, originals from "Nikita" (1.448 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #13) and "Cult" (0.848 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (1.148 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Nikita" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Cult" a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Cult
+25.00% - Nikita
+21.43% - Blue Bloods
0.00% - Fashion Star
-6.67% - Grimm
-12.50% - 20/20
-13.33% - Last Man Standing
-14.29% - Touch
-15.38% - Kitchen Nightmares
-22.22% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
-23.08% - Malibu Country

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Grimm (vs. Grimm (Repeat))
+14.29% - Fashion Star (vs. Who Do You Think You Are? (Repeat))
0.00% - Nikita
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Kitchen Nightmares (vs. Kitchen Nightmares (Repeat))
-10.53% - Blue Bloods (vs. NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Notre Dame vs. Xavier)
-23.53% - Last Man Standing (vs. Shark Tank)
-30.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Dateline NBC)
-41.18% - Malibu Country (vs. Shark Tank)
-45.45% - Touch (vs. Kitchen Nightmares (Repeat))
-57.14% - Cult (vs. Supernatural)

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," 2.5/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/5 with an encore.

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

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.5/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

* From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

* The 0.7 for Jimmy Fallon is his highest Friday rating in the Local People Meters in 10 weeks, since January 4 (0.7), and equals the top "Late Night" Friday result since July 20, 2012 (0.9), the night of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony. Friday's guests included Justin Timberlake and Hayden Panettiere and Timberlake was also the musical guest.

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.5/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

* The 0.5 for Carson Daly is his highest Friday rating in the Local People Meters in 13 months, since February 3, 2012 (0.5).

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/16/12):

CBS (6.20 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) was the network to beat on Friday with its primetime coverage of "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke vs. Lehigh" (6.20 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Update" (8.87 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) and "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Notre Dame vs. Xavier" (4.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3).

ABC (5.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then had to settle for second place with its mix of "Shark Tank" (6.09 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4), "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (5.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) and "20/20" (5.62 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6).

Next up was FOX (2.64 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with a full night of "Kitchen Nightmares" (2.64 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #7) encores.

Meanwhile, NBC (4.08 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up repeats of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (4.24 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) and "Grimm" (3.39 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) followed by a new "Dateline NBC" (4.60 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #8).

And finally, new episodes of "Nikita" (1.53 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "Supernatural" (1.69 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) on The CW (1.61 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Primetime: What Would You Do?
+13.33% - Shark Tank
+7.69% - 20/20
0.00% - Supernatural (vs. 2/17/12)
-16.67% - Nikita (vs. 2/17/12)
-28.57% - Dateline NBC

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+121.43% - NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Update
+70.00% - Shark Tank (vs. Supernanny)
+40.00% - Supernatural (vs. Supernatural (Repeat))
+31.25% - NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke vs. Lehigh (vs. NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game #1)
+26.67% - NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Notre Dame vs. Xavier (vs. NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game #2)
0.00% - Primetime: What Would You Do?
0.00% - 20/20
-16.67% - Nikita (vs. Smallville (Repeat))
-28.57% - 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," 3.0/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.7/5 with an encore delayed by basketball; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.6/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore delayed by basketball; "Nightline," 1.1/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3 with an encore delayed by basketball). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) tied "Late Late Show" (0.5/3 with an encore delayed by basketball).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/3 with an encore in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research