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nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, march 10, 2010)

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

Fresh installments of "Human Target" (7.83 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7) and "American Idol" (20.47 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.5, #1) put FOX (14.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1) in the top spot on Wednesday.

CBS (10.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then claimed the silver with new episodes of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (7.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T8), "Gary Unmarried" (6.83 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #10), "Criminal Minds" (13.13 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3) and "CSI: NY" (11.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T4).

Next up was ABC (5.65 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with the return of "Scrubs" (4.31 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12) followed by new episodes of "The Middle" (6.32 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T8), "Modern Family" (8.95 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.7, #2), "Cougar Town" (6.15 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T4) and "Ugly Betty" (3.90 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T14).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.77 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) offered up a new "Mercy" (6.33 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12), a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.42 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T14) and a new "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (8.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T4).

And finally, the 90-minute season premiere of "America's Next Top Model" (3.75 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.6, #11) lead into the launch of "High Society" (1.39 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16) on The CW (3.16 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5).

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/11/09):

New episodes of "Lie to Me" (households: 6.7/11, #4, half-hour: 12.70%; adults 18-49: 3.4, #4, half-hour: 12.50%) and "American Idol" (households: 14.4/23, #1, half-hour: 4.26%; adults 18-49: 8.8, #1, half-hour: 4.65%) lifted FOX (households: 10.5/17, #1; adults 18-49: 6.1, #1) to victory on Wednesday.

CBS (households: 7.4/12, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then claimed a distant second place with new episodes of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (households: 4.9/8, #6, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.1, #7, half-hour: N/A), "Gary Unmarried" (households: 4.8/8, #7, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T5, half-hour: N/A), "Criminal Minds" (households: 8.9/14, #2, half-hour: 3.45%; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2, half-hour: 2.86%) and "CSI: NY" (households: 8.6/15, #3, half-hour: 4.76%; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3, half-hour: 9.09%).

Next up was NBC (households: 3.8/6, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) with the premiere of "The Chopping Block" (households: 2.9/5, #11, half-hour: -3.45%; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T11, half-hour: 7.14%) followed by new episodes of "Life" (households: 3.5/5, #8, half-hour: 2.94%; adults 18-49: 1.8, #9, half-hour: 5.88%) and "Law & Order" (households: 5.1/9, #5, half-hour: 2.00%; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T5, half-hour: -4.35%).

Meanwhile, ABC (households: 2.7/4, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up repeats of "Scrubs" (households: 2.6/4, #13, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T13, half-hour: N/A), another "Scrubs" (households: 2.3/4, #14, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T13, half-hour: N/A), "Lost" (households: 2.7/4, #12, half-hour: -7.14%; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10, half-hour: -6.25%) and a new "Life on Mars" (households: 3.0/5, #9, half-hour: 0.00%; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T11, half-hour: -6.67%).

And finally, a new "America's Next Top Model" (households: 3.0/5, #10, half-hour: 14.29%; adults 18-49: 1.9, #8, half-hour: 11.11%) lead into a repeat of "90210" (households: 0.8/1, #15, half-hour: -12.50%; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15, half-hour: -20.00%) on The CW (households: 1.9/3, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5).

In the late-night metered markets, NBC's "Leno" (4.3/11) took top honors over CBS's "Letterman" (3.1/8) and ABC's "Nightline" (2.6/6). Rounding out the night then were CBS's "Ferguson" (1.5/5), ABC's "Kimmel" (1.3/4) and "Fallon" (1.9/7) and "Daly" (1.2/5) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

This data is reported with the understanding it will be removed within seven days of its original posting date. To read more about our ratings policy click here.




So what does all this crap mean? Here's a quick guide to understanding these numbers:
"Grey's Anatomy" (15.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.0, #1)
15.36 = "Grey's" total viewers, which indicates 15.36 million viewers in the U.S. watched this broadcast
#2 = "Grey's" total viewers ranking for that night (T denotes a tie)
6.0 = "Grey's" adults 18-49 rating, which indicates 6.0% of all adults 18-49 in the U.S. watched this broadcast
#1 = "Grey's" adults 18-49 ranking for that night (T denotes a tie)
Some other stuff to keep in mind:
· For the 2009-10 season, there are an estimated 292,000,000 people (age 2 and above) in the U.S.
· For the 2009-10 season, there are an estimated 132,000,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 49 in the U.S. so 1% of that equals 1,320,000 people.
· Nielsen Media Research forbids us from displaying ratings in chart form or maintaining regular archives beyond the current week. It sucks, we know.