nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, april 19, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (8.933 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) was the top draw on a night dominated by news coverage with its "NBC News Special" (10.470 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1), a second hour of "NBC News Special" (9.222 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) and a new "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (7.107 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3).

ABC (7.208 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then snagged the silver with its mix of "ABC News Special" (7.577 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6), a second hour of "ABC News Special" (7.748 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) and a new "20/20" (6.299 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5).

Next up was CBS (6.741 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its lineup of "CBS News Special" (6.992 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7), a second hour of "CBS News Special" (7.282 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8) and a third hour of "CBS News Special" (5.949 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.995 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its own "FOX News Special" (3.240 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10) and a second hour of "FOX News Special" (2.751 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

And finally, The CW (1.056 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) likewise carried a "The CW News Special" (1.141 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) and a second hour of "The CW News Special" (0.971 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13).

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," 2.6/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.6/6.

* 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," 0.5/2 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.0/5.

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.8/5 in metered-market households and a 0.8/4 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

* From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 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 0.9/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/20/12):

ABC (4.52 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T1) and NBC (4.82 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T1) split the demo crown on Friday as the former offered up a repeat of "Shark Tank" (5.05 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T5) followed by new episodes of "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (4.38 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T2) and "20/20" (4.14 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T2).

The Peacock then served up a repeat of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (4.19 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) alongside originals of "Grimm" (4.46 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T2) and "Dateline NBC" (5.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1).

CBS (5.42 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) however was still the most-watched network despite its all-repeat lineup of "Mike & Molly" (4.25 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #8), "Rules of Engagement" (3.55 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9), "CSI: NY" (6.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) and "Blue Bloods" (6.18 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9).

Next up was FOX (3.65 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with fresh installments of "The Finder" (4.21 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T5) and "Fringe" (3.09 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #7).

And finally, new episodes of "Nikita" (1.50 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #14) and "Supernatural" (1.48 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13) resumed over on The CW (1.49 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) to close out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - The Finder
+27.27% - Dateline NBC
+11.11% - Fringe
0.00% - Nikita (vs. 3/30/12)
-7.14% - Primetime: What Would You Do?
-14.29% - Supernatural (vs. 3/30/12)
-18.75% - 20/20
-18.75% - Grimm

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):

+20.00% - The Finder (vs. Kitchen Nightmares (Repeat))
+18.18% - Primetime: What Would You Do?
+8.33% - 20/20
0.00% - Dateline NBC
-7.14% - Grimm (vs. Dateline NBC)
-16.67% - Fringe
-33.33% - Supernatural (vs. Supernatural)
-55.56% - Nikita (vs. Smallville)

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," 1.9/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/6; 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," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.8/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market household with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/3). 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