nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, may 21, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (7.791 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) was the demo champ on Tuesday with its mix of "Devastation in Oklahoma" (8.162 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3), "The Voice" (9.993 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) and the season finale of "Grimm" (5.220 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5).

ABC (11.547 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then was a competitive second place with its "The Bachelor's Funniest Moments" (4.746 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9) special followed by the two-hour season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" (14.948 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2).

Next up was FOX (4.586 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with week two of "So You Think You Can Dance" (4.586 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Meanwhile, CBS (7.536 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up repeats of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.704 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7), "NCIS" (7.752 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7) and a second "NCIS" (7.155 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6).

And finally, rebroadcasts of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.770 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10) and "America's Next Top Model" (0.579 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10) on The CW (0.674 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 0.3 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Model" a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+44.44% - Dancing with the Stars
0.00% - So You Think You Can Dance
0.00% - Grimm
-8.82% - The Voice

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Devastation in Oklahoma (vs. America's Got Talent (Repeat))
+6.25% - Grimm (vs. Dateline NBC: 20th Anniversary Special)
-3.13% - The Voice (vs. America's Got Talent)
-7.69% - The Bachelor's Funniest Moments (vs. Dancing With the Stars Recap)
-18.75% - Dancing with the Stars
-47.22% - So You Think You Can Dance (vs. American Idol/Glee)

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," 2.4/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.7/7.

* 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," 0.8/4.

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.6/5 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" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) 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 and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/22/12):

FOX (11.02 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1) posted its best Tuesday since February 28 thanks to the penultimate "American Idol" (14.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) and the season finale of "Glee" (7.64 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4).

ABC (14.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) then was the most-watched network with its "Dancing With the Stars Recap" (8.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9) followed by the two-hour season finale of "Dancing With the Stars" (17.48 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #T2) - its lowest-rated finale ever.

Next up was NBC (6.55 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with its mix of an "America's Got Talent" (5.29 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6) encore, a new "America's Got Talent" (9.29 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #T2) and the "Dateline NBC: 20th Anniversary Special" (5.05 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6).

Meanwhile, CBS (8.64 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up repeats of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.47 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10), "NCIS" (9.16 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6) and a second "NCIS" (9.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5).

And finally, a repeat of "Hart of Dixie" (0.89 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) led into a new "The L.A. Complex" (0.45 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) on The CW (0.67 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Dixie" delivered a 0.3 rating while "Complex" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+45.45% - Dancing With the Stars
+20.00% - Glee
0.00% - The L.A. Complex
-5.88% - America's Got Talent
-12.50% - American Idol (vs. 5/16/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+3.23% - America's Got Talent (vs. The Biggest Loser)
-28.89% - Dancing With the Stars
-32.26% - American Idol
-33.33% - The L.A. Complex (vs. Hellcats (Repeat))
-34.78% - Glee
-57.89% - Dateline NBC: 20th Anniversary Special (vs. The Voice)

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 combo of "Nightline," 4.4/10; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.2/7.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 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