nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, july 18, 2011)

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

FOX (5.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) was sparked to the top spot on Monday thanks to the return of "Hell's Kitchen" (5.76 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) and a new "Masterchef" (5.55 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2).

ABC (7.11 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then had to settle for second place with fresh installments of "The Bachelorette" (7.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) and "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" (5.87 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4).

Next up was CBS (5.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with encores of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.21 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Mike & Molly" (4.34 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Two and a Half Men" (5.89 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5), another "Mike & Molly" (5.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6) and "Hawaii Five-0" (5.35 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.80 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up its mix of "America's Got Talent" (5.79 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7),"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (4.34 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) and "Harry's Law" (4.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "Gossip Girl" (0.70 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "One Tree Hill" (0.62 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) on The CW (0.66 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition (5.3%), Masterchef (4.5%), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (0.0%), The Bachelorette (-12.0%).

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," 2.1/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "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) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 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 (7/19/10):

ABC (8.47 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) coasted to victory on Monday thanks to a new "The Bachelorette" (9.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) and the season finale of "True Beauty" (5.53 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4).

The silver then went to CBS (5.96 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) and its repeat mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.59 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8), "Rules of Engagement" (5.06 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6), "Two and a Half Men" (7.59 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3), "The Big Bang Theory" (7.73 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (5.42 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T9).

Next up was NBC (4.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) and its combination of "America's Got Talent" (4.76 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11), "Last Comic Standing" (4.23 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7) and "Dateline NBC" (5.00 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T9).

Meanwhile, FOX (4.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) offered up new episodes of "Lie to Me" (5.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5) and "The Good Guys" (3.58 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (1.19 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.91 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (1.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research