Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/31/16):

FOX (9.061 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) claimed top honors with the penultimate week of "American Idol" (8.844 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) and a second hour of "American Idol" (9.278 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3).

CBS (7.464 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then took the number two spot with new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (13.966 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "Life in Pieces" (8.071 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5) followed by the season finale of "Life in Pieces" (6.812 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7), a new "2 Broke Girls" (5.737 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #8) and the premiere of "Rush Hour" (5.098 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9).

Next up was ABC (6.437 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with its trio of "Grey's Anatomy" (7.801 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2), "Scandal" (6.485 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) and "The Catch" (5.026 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.672 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up the season finales of "You, Me and the Apocalypse" (2.793 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13) and "Shades of Blue" (5.357 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T9) around a repeat of "The Blacklist" (2.868 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T14).

And finally, fresh installments of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" (2.064 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12) and "The 100" (1.279 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T14) on The CW (1.672 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - American Idol - 8:00
+25.00% - The 100 (vs. 3/10/16)
+16.67% - American Idol - 9:00
+12.50% - Scandal
+10.00% - Grey's Anatomy
+10.00% - Shades of Blue
0.00% - DC's Legends of Tomorrow (vs. 3/10/16)
0.00% - You, Me and the Apocalypse
-2.86% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 3/10/16)
-5.88% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. 3/10/16)
-9.52% - Life in Pieces (vs. 3/10/16)
-16.67% - The Catch

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+162.50% - American Idol - 9:00 (vs. Backstrom)
+150.00% - The 100 (vs. The Flash (Repeat))
+133.33% - DC's Legends of Tomorrow (vs. The Flash (Repeat))
+81.82% - American Idol - 8:00 (vs. Bones)
+57.14% - Shades of Blue (vs. The Slap)
+22.22% - Grey's Anatomy
+6.25% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - Life in Pieces - 8:30 (vs. The Odd Couple)
-5.56% - Life in Pieces - 9:00 (vs. The Big Bang Theory (Repeat))
-8.33% - Rush Hour (vs. Elementary)
-9.09% - The Catch (vs. American Crime)
-14.29% - Scandal
-20.00% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. Mom)
-53.85% - You, Me and the Apocalypse (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 Starring Jimmy Fallon," 2.4/6; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 1.7/4; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.1/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.7/4; "Late Show," 0.3/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.3/4 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 Seth Meyers" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show" (1.0/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/2/15):

CBS (8.910 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) was still the network to beat on Thursday with the return of "The Big Bang Theory" (13.352 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1), "The Odd Couple" (8.713 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4), a repeat "The Big Bang Theory" (8.286 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5), "Mom" (8.385 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) and "Elementary" (7.363 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9).

ABC (6.173 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then claimed the silver with its trio of "Grey's Anatomy" (6.604 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5), "Scandal" (7.231 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) and "American Crime" (4.686 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10).

Next up was NBC (5.792 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) and originals from "Dateline NBC" (6.516 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8), "The Blacklist" (7.538 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7) and the concluding "The Slap" (3.323 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.915 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) offered up new episodes of "Bones" (4.652 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10) and "Backstrom" (3.179 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12).

And finally, repeats of "The Flash" (0.913 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) and another "The Flash" (0.846 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.2, #15) on The CW (0.880 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), the former delivered a 0.2 rating at 8:00/7:00c and the latter a 0.2 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+30.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - The Blacklist
0.00% - The Slap
-8.33% - American Crime
-8.70% - Scandal
-11.11% - Backstrom
-13.04% - Mom (vs. 3/12/15)
-15.38% - Bones
-18.18% - Grey's Anatomy
-20.00% - Elementary (vs. 3/12/15)
-26.92% - The Odd Couple (vs. 3/12/15)
-27.27% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 3/12/15)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland)
+45.45% - The Blacklist (vs. Hollywood Game Night)
+30.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. Community/Parks & Recreation)
+11.11% - Mom (vs. The Crazy Ones)
-19.23% - Scandal (vs. Grey's Anatomy)
-25.00% - Elementary
-33.33% - The Big Bang Theory
-34.48% - The Odd Couple (vs. The Millers)
-35.29% - Bones (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
-41.67% - The Slap (vs. Parenthood)
-46.67% - Backstrom (vs. American Idol/Surviving Jack)
-60.71% - American Crime (vs. Scandal)

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 3.0/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.2/6; "Late Show," 0.4/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with James Corden " (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show with James Corden" (0.2/1).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research