nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, april 18, 2013)

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

FOX (9.144 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) held onto the demo crown on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "American Idol" (11.900 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) and "Glee" (6.388 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T5).

CBS (9.248 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then was a competitive second place despite its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.191 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (8.732 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4), another "The Big Bang Theory" (10.751 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1), "2 Broke Girls" (7.694 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T5) and "Person of Interest" (8.559 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7).

Next up was NBC (3.181 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with an original "Community" (3.187 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12) followed by a repeat of "The Office" (2.307 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) and new episodes of "Parks & Recreation" (3.341 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7), another "Parks & Recreation" (3.248 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7) and "Hannibal" (3.500 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #11).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.028 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up a new "Wife Swap" (4.732 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10) plus repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" (3.981 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and "Scandal" (3.371 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T15).

And finally, the return of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.143 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T15) and "Beauty and the Beast" (1.598 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.6, #17) on The CW (1.871 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 1.3 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.5 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+13.33% - Parks & Recreation
+8.33% - Community
+7.14% - Wife Swap
0.00% - Beauty and the Beast (vs. 3/28/13)
-6.45% - American Idol
-8.33% - Glee
-12.50% - Hannibal
-25.00% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. 3/28/13)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - Hannibal (vs. Awake)
+20.00% - Beauty and the Beast (vs. The Secret Circle)
+15.38% - Wife Swap (vs. Missing)
+4.76% - Glee (vs. Touch)
0.00% - Community
-5.56% - Parks & Recreation - 9:30
-10.00% - The Vampire Diaries
-22.73% - Parks & Recreation - 9:00 (vs. The Office)
-25.64% - 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," 2.3/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.2/6.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 Wednesday results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/3 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

* 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" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) trailed CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). 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 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 19 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/19/12):

FOX (10.97 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) was again the network to beat on Thursday with new episodes of "American Idol" (14.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) and "Touch" (7.35 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T6) - its series low.

Second place then went to ABC (8.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) with originals of "Missing" (7.08 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T12) - its lowest rating to date, "Grey's Anatomy" (9.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) and "Scandal" (7.35 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T6).

Next up was CBS (8.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) with a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) followed by a new "Rules of Engagement" (7.73 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) - tied as its series low with regular telecasts - and repeats of "Person of Interest" (8.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T9) and "The Mentalist" (8.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T9).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up fresh installments of "Community" (2.91 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T12) - ties as a series low, "30 Rock" (3.16 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T9), "The Office" (4.31 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) - ties its series low - plus the return of "Parks & Recreation" (3.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #8) and a new "Awake" (2.74 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14) - its series low.

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.18 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13) and "The Secret Circle" (1.11 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 1.5 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.6 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+10.34% - Grey's Anatomy
+7.14% - 30 Rock
+4.76% - The Office
0.00% - Scandal
-5.26% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 3/8/12)
-7.14% - Missing
-7.14% - Community
-7.14% - American Idol
-8.70% - Touch
-9.09% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. 3/29/12)
-11.11% - Awake
-16.67% - The Secret Circle (vs. 3/29/12)
-18.52% - Rules of Engagement

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+166.67% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
+162.50% - Scandal (vs. Private Practice (Repeat))
+66.67% - 30 Rock (vs. The Paul Reiser Show)
+46.67% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Rules of Engagement (Repeat))
0.00% - Missing (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
-9.09% - The Vampire Diaries
-13.33% - Community
-28.00% - Parks & Recreation
-30.36% - American Idol
-33.33% - The Office
-34.38% - Touch (vs. Bones)
-37.50% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita)
-63.64% - Awake (vs. 30 Rock)

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," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.4/8; 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," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market household with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 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 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research