nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, may 19, 2011)

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

FOX (15.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) cruised to victory on the final Thursday of the May sweeps period with a new "American Idol" (21.19 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.2, #1) and the season finale of "Bones" (10.05 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5).

CBS (12.49 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then claimed a distant silver with its finale mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.12 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (8.80 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T7) and a two-hour "The Mentalist" (13.75 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6).

Next up was ABC (7.54 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) with its season closers to "Wipeout" (5.59 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11), "Grey's Anatomy" (9.58 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #4) and "Private Practice" (7.47 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #4) offered up encores of "The Office" (2.83 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and another "The Office" (3.02 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #12) followed by the one-hour season finale of "The Office" (7.07 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2), a new "Parks & Recreation" (4.25 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.4, #9) and the season finale of "Parks & Recreation" (3.72 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10).

And finally, a rebroadcast of the "Smallville" (1.32 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #14) series finale on The CW (1.32 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Office (18.80%), Grey's Anatomy (9.70%), The Big Bang Theory (9.40%), Private Practice (8.70%), Rules of Engagement (8.70%), The Mentalist (3.80%), Wipeout (0.00%), Parks & Recreation (0.00%), Parks & Recreation (0.00%), American Idol (0.00%), Bones (-3.00%).

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," 2.6/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.0/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; 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," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.1/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 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 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/20/10):

ABC (11.77 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday thanks to part one of the "Grey's Anatomy" (13.93 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.9, #2) season finale and part two of the "Grey's Anatomy" (16.13 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.9, #1) season finale. Leading off the night was the penultimate episode of "FlashForward" (5.26 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12).

The silver then went to CBS (12.45 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) with a repeat of "The Mentalist" (8.14 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13) followed by the finales of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.19 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4) and "The Mentalist" (15.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #5).

Next up was FOX (7.44 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T3) with the season closers to "Bones" (9.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T6) and "Fringe" (5.68 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T3) wrapped the seasons of "Community" (4.41 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11), "Parks & Recreation" (4.55 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8), "The Office" (6.60 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3), "30 Rock" (5.45 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T6) and "The Marriage Ref" (4.58 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "Smallville" (1.45 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #14) and another "Smallville" (1.30 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research