nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, september 25, 2010)

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

Coverage of "Saturday Night College Football" (4.66 million viewers, #T4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) kept ABC (4.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) in front on Saturday.

Settling for second then was FOX (4.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) with its mainstays "Cops" (4.41 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.66 million viewers, #T4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.98 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (6.12 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4) and "Blue Bloods" (5.60 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4) followed by the season premiere of "48 Hours Mystery" (5.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4).

And finally, repeats of "The Event" (3.11 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #9), "Chase" (4.20 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.63 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4) on NBC (3.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) rounded out the evening.

And in late-night, the 36th season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 5.3 household rating, 13 share in the metered markets.

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/26/09):

ABC (5.96 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) rode its coverage of "Saturday Night College Football" (5.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) to victory on against on Saturday.

The silver then went to FOX (4.58 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) with its usual mix of "Cops" (4.02 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4), another "Cops" (4.56 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) and "America's Most Wanted" (4.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.19 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (4.31 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7) and "The Good Wife" (5.09 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7) followed by the season premiere of "48 Hours Mystery" (6.17 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4).

And finally, repeats of "Law & Order" (3.48 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10), "Mercy" (3.81 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.90 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6) on NBC (4.05 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) rounded out the night.

Source: Nielsen Media Research