nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, march 15, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (7.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) took home the demo crown on Tuesday thanks to new episodes of "Glee" (10.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1), "Raising Hope" (6.30 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) and "Traffic Light" (3.95 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7).

NBC (6.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then snagged the silver with a new "The Biggest Loser" (7.97 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) and an encore of Sunday's "America's Next Great Restaurant" (3.96 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7). Said repeat actually bested its original telecast (4.18 million viewers; adults 18-49: 1.4) in the key demo.

Next up was CBS (10.84 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "NCIS" (12.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (12.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) and "The Good Wife" (7.45 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.86 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up a repeat of "No Ordinary Family" (3.47 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #11) followed by the season finale of "V" (5.30 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) and the penultimate week of "Detroit 187" (5.80 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9), which closes its season on Sunday.

And finally, repeats of "One Tree Hill" (0.90 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and "Hellcats" (0.74 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.82 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Detroit 187 (18.20%), Traffic Light (6.70%), V (5.90%), The Biggest Loser (-6.90%), Raising Hope (-10.70%), Glee (-13.00%).

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," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.5/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/7; 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," 0.7/3; "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) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/16/10):

FOX (22.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.0, #1) was the network to beat on Tuesday with a two-hour "American Idol" (22.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.0, #1).

Second place then went to CBS (15.35 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) with new episodes of "NCIS" (17.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (15.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4) and "The Good Wife" (13.27 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6).

Next up was NBC (6.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) with fresh installments of "The Biggest Loser" (7.23 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #5) and "Parenthood" (5.94 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

Meanwhile, ABC (5.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4) offered up a repeat of "Lost" (3.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9) followed by a new "Lost" (8.76 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2) and the special "FlashForward: What Did You See?" (4.33 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #8).

And finally, The CW (1.51 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) was out of the hunt with new episodes of "90210" (1.86 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10) and "Melrose Place" (1.16 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #11).

Source: Nielsen Media Research