nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, may 31, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (6.034 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1) held onto the top spot on Friday with new episodes of "Dateline NBC" (6.411 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (5.279 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4).

The silver then went to ABC (4.135 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) with a repeat of "Shark Tank" (4.047 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5) followed by the return of "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (3.922 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T2) and a new "20/20" (4.436 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T2).

Next up was CBS (4.984 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and its second run mix of "Undercover Boss" (4.199 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5), "Hawaii Five-0" (4.630 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8) and "Blue Bloods" (6.125 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #7).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.245 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up rebroadcasts of "Bones" (2.425 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #9) and "The Following" (2.065 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10).

And finally, repeats of "Nikita" (0.936 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) and "Supernatural" (0.903 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) on The CW (0.919 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Nikita" delivered a 0.2 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+27.27% - Dateline NBC (vs. 5/17/13)
-13.33% - 20/20 (vs. 5/17/13)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+40.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. Best Friends Forever/Dateline NBC)
+8.33% - Primetime: What Would You Do? (vs. Primetime: What Would You Do? (Repeat))
-13.33% - 20/20
-14.29% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. 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," 2.4/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/5 with an encore.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 Wednesday results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/3 with an encore.

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.5/4 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" (1.4/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "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 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

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

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (6/1/12):

ABC (4.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1) edged out a demo victory on the first night of June thanks to repeats of "Shark Tank" (4.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3), "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (3.69 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) and a new "20/20" (4.66 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

NBC (4.75 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) then claimed a competitive second place with its mix of "Best Friends Forever" (2.39 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), another "Best Friends Forever" (2.04 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9) and a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (6.02 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.16 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with repeats of "Undercover Boss" (5.02 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5), "CSI: NY" (5.05 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Blue Bloods" (5.41 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.41 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) likewise offered up second runs of "House" (2.26 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Bones" (2.58 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #6).

And finally, an encore of "Breaking Pointe" (0.85 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) and a repeat of "Supernatural" (0.84 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) on The CW (0.84 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+27.27% - Dateline NBC (vs. 5/18/12)
+25.00% - 20/20 (vs. 5/18/12)
-25.00% - Best Friends Forever (vs. 4/25/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+36.36% - 20/20
+16.67% - Dateline NBC
-25.00% - Best Friends Forever (vs. Friday Night Lights)

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 combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; 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," 0.9/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "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" (0.5/3 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 and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 with an encore in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research