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nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, november 19, 2009)

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

CBS (14.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) held off the competition on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "Survivor: Samoa" (12.31 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T2), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.95 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #5) and "The Mentalist" (15.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T2).

The silver then went to ABC (10.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) with fresh installments of "FlashForward" (8.01 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #9), "Grey's Anatomy" (13.96 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) and "Private Practice" (8.99 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6).

Next up was FOX (7.87 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T3) with new episodes of "Bones" (9.85 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.7, #8) and "Fringe" (5.89 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.43 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T3) offered up its mix of "Community" (5.06 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10), "Parks & Recreation" (4.61 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10), "The Office" (7.43 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.7, #4), "30 Rock" (5.86 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.9, #7) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.82 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #14).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.72 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.7, #13) and "Supernatural" (2.74 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #15) on The CW (3.23 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/20/08):

CBS (households: 8.6/14, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) narrowly beat out ABC (households: 6.9/11, #2; adults 18-49: 3.7, #2) on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden" (households: 7.6/12, #3, half-hour: 8.22%; adults 18-49: 4.0, #4, half-hour: 10.53%), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (households: 11.3/17, #1, half-hour: 3.60%; adults 18-49: 5.0, #2, half-hour: 2.04%) and "Eleventh Hour" (households: 7.0/12, #4, half-hour: -9.59%; adults 18-49: 2.8, #7, half-hour: -6.90%).

The Alphabet then offered up fresh installments of "Ugly Betty" (households: 5.5/9, #6, half-hour: 9.62%; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T8, half-hour: 21.74%), "Grey's Anatomy" (households: 10.1/16, #2, half-hour: 5.10%; adults 18-49: 6.1, #1, half-hour: 6.78%) and "Life on Mars" (households: 5.3/9, #7, half-hour: -14.04%; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T8, half-hour: -24.14%).

Next up was NBC (households: 4.8/8, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3) with new episodes of "My Name Is Earl" (households: 4.2/7, #10, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T8, half-hour: N/A), "Kath & Kim" (households: 3.5/6, #11, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.3, #11, half-hour: N/A), "The Office" (households: 4.9/7, #8, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 4.3, #3, half-hour: N/A), "30 Rock" (households: 4.4/7, #9, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T5, half-hour: N/A) and "ER" (households: 5.9/10, #5, half-hour: 0.00%; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T5, half-hour: -2.86%).

Meanwhile, FOX (households: 2.8/4, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) offered up a new "Kitchen Nightmares" (households: 3.0/5, #12, half-hour: 10.71%; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T12, half-hour: 22.22%) followed by a repeat of "Kitchen Nightmares" (households: 2.7/4, #14, half-hour: 3.85%; adults 18-49: 1.8, #14, half-hour: 0.00%).

And finally, new episodes of "Smallville" (households: 2.9/5, #13, half-hour: 7.14%; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T12, half-hour: 16.67%) and "Supernatural" (households: 2.5/4, #15, half-hour: -4.00%; adults 18-49: 1.7, #15, half-hour: -5.88%) on The CW (households: 2.7/4, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5) closed out the night.

In late-night metered market ratings, NBC's "Leno" (3.9/10) took top honors over ABC's "Nightline" (3.4/8) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.3/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.8/6) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.6/6) on CBS and "Conan" (1.9/6) and "Daly" (1.1/5) 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.