nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, september 18, 2013)

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

CBS (8.127 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) was the top demo draw on Wednesday with the respective 90-minute premiere of "Survivor: Blood vs. Water" (9.524 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) and finale to "Big Brother 15" (6.731 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3).

FOX (6.560 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then had to settle for second place with week two of "The X Factor" (6.404 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #5) alongside a second hour of "The X Factor" (6.716 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4).

Next up was NBC (9.203 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) with the penultimate night of "Million Second Quiz" (4.921 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) followed by the two-hour season finale of "America's Got Talent" (11.344 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.501 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up repeats of "The Middle" (4.124 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), another "The Middle" (3.928 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T9), "Modern Family" (3.727 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7), another "Modern Family" (4.100 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #6) and "Nashville" (2.564 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11).

And finally, second runs of "Arrow" (1.154 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "Supernatural" (1.075 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) on The CW (1.114 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Arrow" 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):
+19.05% - America's Got Talent
+9.09% - Big Brother 15
0.00% - The X Factor
0.00% - Million Second Quiz

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+108.33% - America's Got Talent (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat)/Revolution (Repeat))
-4.00% - Big Brother 15
-16.13% - Survivor: Blood vs. Water
-29.41% - Million Second Quiz (vs. The Voice (Repeat))
-32.26% - The X Factor - 8:00
-42.50% - The X Factor - 9:00

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," 3.1/9; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.8/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.5/3 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/6 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 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 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 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/19/12):

FOX (9.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday with week-to-week gains from "The X Factor" (8.19 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T2) and a second hour of "The X Factor" (10.56 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1).

CBS (9.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then claimed the silver with the 90-minute launch of "Survivor: Philippines" (11.22 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T2) and the 90-minute finale to "Big Brother 14" (7.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #4).

Next up was NBC (4.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "The Voice" (5.42 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.74 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) and "Revolution" (4.47 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.64 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its own second run mix of "The Middle" (4.48 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10), "Suburgatory" (3.54 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11), "Modern Family" (4.68 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), another "Suburgatory" (3.58 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) and "Revenge" (2.79 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12).

And finally, an original "Oh Sit!" (0.97 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and a repeat of "Supernatural" (0.94 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) The CW (0.95 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Oh Sit!" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
25.00% - Big Brother 14
14.81% - The X Factor - 8:00
5.26% - The X Factor - 9:00
0.00% - Oh Sit!

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Oh Sit! (vs. H8R)
-9.62% - Survivor: Philippines (vs. Survivor: South Pacific/Criminal Minds)
-11.11% - The X Factor - 9:00
-24.39% - The X Factor - 8:00
-27.11% - Big Brother 14 (vs. Criminal Minds/CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)

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," 2.0/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/7; 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," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

·At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) 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 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research