nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, july 7, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (6.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) moved up to the top spot on Thursday thanks to the debut of "Big Brother 13" (7.71 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1). Bookending the broadcast were repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.70 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (5.19 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7) and "The Mentalist" (6.71 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8).

ABC (5.95 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then had to settle for second place with its original mix of "Wipeout" (6.64 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2), "Expedition Impossible" (5.52 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4) and "Rookie Blue" (5.68 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #6).

Next up was FOX (4.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.37 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4) followed by a repeat of "Glee" (3.12 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.15 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up repeats of "Community" (2.29 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12), "Parks & Recreation" (2.19 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11), "The Office" (2.44 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9), "30 Rock" (2.02 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12) and a new "Love Bites" (1.97 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.16 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) and "Nikita" (0.12 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) on The CW (1.14 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Rookie Blue (7.10%), Wipeout (5.30%), So You Think You Can Dance (0.00%), Love Bites (0.00%), Expedition Impossible (-11.10%).

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," 2.6/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

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" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/8/10):

CBS (7.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with the launch of "Big Brother 12" (7.35 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T1) followed by repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.82 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6) and "The Mentalist" (8.56 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4).

The silver then went to ABC (6.42 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T2) with new episodes of "Wipeout" (7.86 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T1), "Rookie Blue" (6.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4) and "Boston Med" (5.01 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8).

Sharing the silver was FOX (4.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T2) with a repeat of "Glee" (3.88 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7) and a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.96 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3).Meanwhile, NBC (2.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) offered up its marathon of "Community: Contemporary American Poultry" (2.64 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #13), "Community: Romantic Expressionism" (2.07 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14), "Community: Modern Warefare" (2.15 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11), "Community: Physical Education" (2.31 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10), "Community: Contemporary Religion" (2.23 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) and "Community: Debate 109" (2.02 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.52 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15) and "Moonlight" (1.23 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) on The CW (1.37 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research