nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, march 14, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (13.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) towered over the competition on Monday thanks to the season finale of "The Bachelor" (13.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.5, #2) followed by the reunion special "The Bachelor: After the Finale Rose" (13.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1).

FOX (8.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then claimed a distant second place with new episodes of "House" (10.28 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3) and "The Chicago Code" (7.28 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T7).

Next up was CBS (7.57 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.08 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T7), "Mad Love" (6.51 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #6), "Two and a Half Men" (9.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.6, #4), "Mike & Molly" (8.46 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #5) and "Hawaii Five-0" (7.30 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up fresh installments of "Chuck" (4.97 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #11), "The Event" (4.19 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12) and "Harry's Law" (10.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #10) - all three of which matched or hit new series lows.

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.73 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.50 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.62 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Bachelor (45.20%), Harry's Law (-5.60%), Chuck (-5.90%), House (-7.90%), The Chicago Code (-9.50%), Mad Love (-12.50%), The Event (-14.30%).

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," 3.2/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.5/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.9/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/6.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.5/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.5/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/15/10):

FOX (10.11 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) took home top honors on Monday thanks to fresh hours of "House" (11.20 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1) and "24" (9.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4).

The silver then went to CBS (9.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.15 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.0, #8), "Rules of Engagement" (7.76 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T4), "Two and a Half Men" (12.51 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T2), "The Big Bang Theory" (11.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T2) and "CSI: Miami" (8.97 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T6).

Next up was ABC (7.51 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with its two-hour "20/20: Inside the Bachelor" (7.98 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T6) special followed by a repeat of "Castle" (6.57 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T10).

Next up was NBC (5.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) with new episodes of "Chuck" (5.78 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #9), "Trauma" (5.25 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #12) and "Law & Order" (6.90 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T10).

And finally, new episodes of "Life Unexpected" (2.11 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13) and "Gossip Girl" (1.72 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13) closed out the night on The CW (1.92 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research