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nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, february 4, 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:

New episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (12.50 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) and "Private Practice" (9.33 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3) helped ABC (8.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) take home the adults 18-49 crown on Thursday. Leading off the night was a new "The Deep End" (5.08 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #13).

A close second place then went to CBS (12.53 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T2) with its "Surviving Survivor" (8.29 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #9) special, followed by new episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.57 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6) and "The Mentalist" (14.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T4).

Sharing the silver was FOX (9.85 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T2) with the winter finales of "Bones" (12.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T4) and "Fringe" (7.41 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.6, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.21 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4) offered up new episodes of "Community" (5.22 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #11), "Parks & Recreation" (4.87 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.3, #10), "The Office" (7.36 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2), "30 Rock" (5.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7) and "The Jay Leno Show" (3.94 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14).

And finally, fresh installments of "The Vampire Diaries" (4.01 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.8, #12) and "Supernatural" (2.35 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.1, #15) on The CW (3.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/5/09):

With CBS (households: 5.6/9, #T2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4) in repeats, ABC (households: 7.7/12, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday. The Alphabet offered up new episodes of "Ugly Betty" (households: 5.0/8, #7, half-hour: 6.25%; adults 18-49: 2.4, #10, half-hour: 23.81%), "Grey's Anatomy" (households: 9.8/15, #1, half-hour: 8.51%; adults 18-49: 5.8, #1, half-hour: 9.09%) and "Private Practice" (households: 8.5/14, #2, half-hour: -5.75%; adults 18-49: 5.4, #2, half-hour: -5.45%).

Second place then went to FOX (households: 5.6/9, #T2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) with fresh installments of "Bones" (households: 6.7/11, #4, half-hour: 12.70%; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5, half-hour: 13.33%) and "Hell's Kitchen" (households: 4.5/7, #9, half-hour: 4.55%; adults 18-49: 3.5, #4, half-hour: 12.12%).

Meanwhile, NBC (households: 4.3/7, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) offered up new episodes of "My Name Is Earl" (households: 3.9/6, #T11, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.5, #9, half-hour: N/A), "Kath & Kim" (households: 3.1/5, #14, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T11, half-hour: N/A), "The Office" (households: 5.2/8, #6, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 4.3, #3, half-hour: N/A), "30 Rock" (households: 4.1/6, #10, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 3.0, #6, half-hour: N/A) and "ER" (households: 4.9/9, #8, half-hour: 6.38%; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T7, half-hour: 3.85%).

As for CBS, the Eye served up its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (households: 3.9/6, #T11, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T11, half-hour: N/A), "How I Met Your Mother" (households: 3.7/6, #13, half-hour: N/A; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T11, half-hour: N/A), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (households: 7.4/11, #3, half-hour: 4.17%; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T7, half-hour: 3.85%) and "Eleventh Hour" (households: 5.5/9, #5, half-hour: -10.34%; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T11, half-hour: -14.29%).

And finally, new episodes of "Smallville" (households: 2.4/4, #15, half-hour: -4.17%; adults 18-49: 1.6, #15, half-hour: 6.67%) and "Supernatural" (households: 2.1/3, #16, half-hour: -4.76%; adults 18-49: 1.4, #16, half-hour: -7.14%) on The CW (households: 2.2/3, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) closed out the night.

In late-night metered market ratings, NBC's "Leno" (4.1/10) took top honors over ABC's "Nightline" (3.4/8) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.7/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.6/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.4/5) on CBS and "Conan" (2.0/7) 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.