nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, january 25, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (7.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) took home top demo honors on a State of the Union-driven Tuesday with its mix of "The Biggest Loser" (8.68 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1), "NBC News Special" (8.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T2), "NBC News Special/State of the Union Analysis" (7.35 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) and "State of the Union Analysis" (5.20 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8).

CBS (9.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then had to settle for second place with a repeat of "NCIS" (13.17 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T2) followed by a "CBS News Special" (8.51 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5), "CBS News Special/State of the Union Analysis" (7.24 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and "State of the Union Analysis/The Big Bang Theory" (5.11 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15).

Next up was FOX (3.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with a repeat of "Glee" (4.69 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6) and a "FOX News Special" (3.41 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11), "FOX News Special/State of the Union Analysis" (3.76 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12) and "State of the Union Analysis" (3.67 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13).

Meanwhile, ABC (5.23 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up a second run of "No Ordinary Family" (4.38 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13) alongside its "ABC News Special" (6.71 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6), "ABC News Special/State of the Union Analysis" (6.23 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and "State of the Union Analysis/Cougar Town" (2.95 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.7, #18).

And finally, the return of "One Tree Hill" (1.88 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T16) and "Hellcats" (2.16 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T16) on The CW (2.02 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Hellcats (12.50% vs. 12/1/10), The Biggest Loser (7.10%), One Tree Hill (-10.00% vs. 12/7/10).

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

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.0/5 with an encore delayed by news coverage; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore delayed by news coverage; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 delayed by news coverage). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3 delayed by news coverage).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/26/10):

FOX (16.89 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.1, #1) was the network to beat last night thanks to new episodes of "American Idol" (24.19 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.0, #1) and "Human Target" (9.60 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5).

Second place then went to CBS (15.88 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) with new episodes of "NCIS" (20.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2) and "NCIS: Los Angeles" (17.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T3) as well as a repeat of "The Good Wife" (10.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #6).

Next up was NBC (8.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) with fresh installments of "The Biggest Loser" (9.68 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T3) and "The Jay Leno Show" (6.33 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.0, #7).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up new episodes of "Scrubs" (3.30 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9) and "Better Off Ted" (2.55 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10) followed by an encore of last season's "Lost" (3.44 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8) two-hour finale.

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.96 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #11) and "Melrose Place" (0.88 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) on The CW (0.92 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research