nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, july 24, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (4.317 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) edged out a demo victory on Wednesday with a repeat of "MasterChef" (3.119 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5) followed by an original "MasterChef" (5.515 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T1).

NBC (7.052 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then was a close second place with its own rebroadcast of "America's Got Talent" (6.631 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) alongside originals from "America's Got Talent" (10.315 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T1) and "Camp" (4.210 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6).

Next up was CBS (5.591 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with a new "Big Brother 15" (6.298 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) plus repeats of "Criminal Minds" (4.373 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T8) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.101 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.881 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) served up repeats of "The Middle" (3.539 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10), "Suburgatory" (2.520 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13), "Modern Family" (3.135 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T8) and "The Neighbors" (2.325 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12) as well as a new "The Lookout" (2.884 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "Arrow" (1.093 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) and "Supernatural" (1.027 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) closed out the night over on The CW (1.060 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Arrow" delivered a 0.3 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.5 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+9.52% - MasterChef
+4.76% - Big Brother 15
0.00% - The Lookout
-17.86% - America's Got Talent
-21.43% - Camp

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+35.29% - MasterChef (vs. So You Think You Can Dance)
+15.79% - Big Brother 15
+4.55% - America's Got Talent
-20.00% - The Lookout (vs. Final Witness)
-31.25% - Camp (vs. Jimmy Fallon's Primetime Music Special)

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; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/4 with an encore.

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

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.1/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 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" (1.1/4). 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 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/25/12):

FOX (5.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) clinged to the demo crown on Wednesday with a full night of "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.11 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3).

NBC (6.10 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then finished a close second place with its mix of "The CLIOS: World's Best Commercials" (4.88 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), "America's Got Talent" (8.70 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) and "Jimmy Fallon's Primetime Music Special" (4.71 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4).

Next up was CBS (5.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with an original "Big Brother 14" (5.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) followed by repeats of "Criminal Minds" (4.94 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.01 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up repeats of "The Middle" (3.75 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11), "Suburgatory" (3.12 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12), "Modern Family" (3.73 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6), another "Modern Family" (3.99 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) plus a new "Final Witness" (3.90 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10).

And finally, The CW (0.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening with repeats of the relocated "Supernatural" (0.93 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and another "Supernatural" (0.79 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+15.79% - America's Got Talent
0.00% - Big Brother 14
-5.56% - So You Think You Can Dance
-16.67% - Final Witness

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+9.09% - The CLIOS: World's Best Commercials (vs. Minute to Win It)
0.00% - Jimmy Fallon's Primetime Music Special (Vs. Love in the Wild)
0.00% - Final Witness (vs. Primetime Nightline)
-15.00% - So You Think You Can Dance
-17.39% - Big Brother 14
-18.52% - America's Got Talent

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," 2.1/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 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 0.8/3 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