nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, april 4, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (13.294 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (16.785 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (13.577 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2), "Person of Interest" (14.340 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4) and "Elementary" (10.362 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #7).

FOX (7.734 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then took home the silver with a new "American Idol" (11.275 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3) followed by special Thursday installments of "New Girl" (4.866 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.0, #8) and "The Mindy Project" (3.522 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12).

Next up was ABC (6.870 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with fresh installments of "Wife Swap" (4.103 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13), "Grey's Anatomy" (8.395 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4) and "Scandal" (8.114 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.302 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up its new Thursday lineup of "Community" (2.413 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15), "Parks & Recreation" (2.923 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11), "The Office" (3.421 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #9), the relocated "Go On" (2.432 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14) and the debut of "Hannibal" (4.311 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.159 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "Beauty and the Beast" (0.752 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #17) on The CW (0.955 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.2 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+15.15% - Two and a Half Men (vs. 3/14/13)
+8.89% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 3/14/13)
+3.85% - Scandal
+3.70% - American Idol
0.00% - The Mindy Project (vs. 4/2/13)
-3.57% - Grey's Anatomy
-6.25% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 3/21/13)
-6.90% - Person of Interest (vs. 3/14/13)
-9.09% - New Girl (vs. 3/26/13)
-9.09% - Community (vs. 3/14/13)
-10.53% - The Office (vs. 3/21/13)
-12.50% - Elementary (vs. 3/14/13)
-14.29% - Wife Swap
-47.62% - Go On (vs. 3/26/13)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+77.78% - Hannibal (vs. Awake)
+70.00% - The Office
+40.74% - Two and a Half Men (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+28.57% - Scandal
+25.00% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
+16.67% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - Go On (vs. Up All Night)
-3.57% - Grey's Anatomy
-6.90% - Person of Interest
-12.50% - Elementary (vs. The Mentalist)
-13.04% - New Girl (vs. Touch)
-14.29% - Wife Swap (vs. Missing)
-23.08% - Community
-26.32% - American Idol
-39.13% - The Mindy Project (vs. Touch)

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," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.3/5.

* 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," 0.6/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.9/5.

* 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" (1.5/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3 with an encore).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/5/12):

FOX (10.62 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) clinged to the demo crown on Thursday with fresh installments of "American Idol" (13.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2) - its Thursday low this season - and "Touch" (7.45 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7) - a series low.

CBS (12.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then snagged a close second place with new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (13.01 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) - a season low, "Rules of Engagement" (8.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.7, #5) - tied for its season low, "Person of Interest" (13.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) and "The Mentalist" (12.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6) - ties as its series low with regular telecasts.

Next up was ABC (7.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with originals of "Missing" (7.16 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9) - tied as its season low - and "Grey's Anatomy" (8.08 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4) - its season low - plus the premiere of "Scandal" (7.45 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.69 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its mix of "Community" (3.10 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10) - its series low, "30 Rock" (2.82 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11) - likewise its series low, a repeat "The Office" (2.55 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13), "Up All Night" (2.62 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12) - again, its series low - and "Awake" (2.54 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14) - its lowest rated telecast to date.

And finally, rebroadcasts of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.11 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) and "The Secret Circle" (0.82 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) on The CW (0.96 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.5 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.5 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Missing
-3.57% - Rules of Engagement
-6.67% - The Big Bang Theory
-6.67% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. 3/15/12)
-9.52% - American Idol
-10.00% - Awake
-11.11% - The Mentalist
-12.12% - Person of Interest
-15.38% - Up All Night
-17.86% - Touch
-20.00% - 30 Rock
-23.53% - Community

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+162.50% - Scandal (vs. Private Practice (Repeat))
+115.38% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
+62.50% - Community (vs. Community (Repeat))
+20.00% - 30 Rock (vs. Perfect Couples)
+16.67% - The Big Bang Theory
+8.00% - Rules of Engagement
+3.57% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-12.50% - Missing (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
-17.24% - The Mentalist
-21.43% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation (Repeat))
-30.77% - Awake (vs. 30 Rock (Repeat)/Outsourced)
-32.35% - Touch (vs. Bones)
-37.70% - American Idol

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," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.9/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.5/8; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market household) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4 delayed by Masters coverage). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-4) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 delayed by Masters coverage).

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research