nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, july 25, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 19 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the live Presidential Press Conference, Fast Nationals for FOX, ABC, CBS, and NBC are approximate.]

ABC (7.56 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) was the network to beat on Monday with its mix of the opening hour to "The Bachelorette" (7.88 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4), the "ABC News Special" (8.42 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T2), the concluding hour to "The Bachelorette" (7.82 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T2) and the season finale of "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" (5.54 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6).

FOX (4.82 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then finished a close second with a new "Hell's Kitchen" (5.79 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) followed by its "FOX News Special" (4.36 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5) and an encore of "Masterchef" (joined-in-progress; 3.35 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7).

Next up was CBS (4.61 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its combination of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.06 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T12), "Mike & Molly" (4.27 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T12), "CBS News Special" (4.94 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11), "Two and a Half Men" (5.17 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8), another "Mike & Molly" (4.81 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T12) and "Hawaii Five-0" (4.43 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.38 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) was out of the hunt with its lineup of "America's Got Talent" (5.43 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8), "NBC News Special" (5.19 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T8), "It's Worth What?" (joined-in-progress; 2.83 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T16) and "Harry's Law" (3.69 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T16).

And finally, repeats of "Gossip Girl" (0.64 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T18) and "One Tree Hill" (0.49 million viewers, #19; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T18) on The CW (0.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Not applicable due to the Presidential Press Conference.

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

ABC and CBS late-night programs were delayed by primetime news coverage. Accurate overnight ratings are not currently available for those programs.

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.6/6; "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," 1.1/4; and "Last Call with Carson Daly," 0.7/3 with an encore telecast.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," 0.4/2; "Last Call with Carson Daly," 0.3/2 with an encore.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/26/10):

ABC (7.91 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) took home top honors on Monday thanks to its specials "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All" (8.86 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) and "20/20: Stories Behind the Rose" (6.01 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Second place then went to CBS (6.46 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) with its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.65 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10), "Rules of Engagement" (5.24 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7), "Two and a Half Men" (8.26 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3), "The Big Bang Theory" (8.20 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (6.21 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7).

Next up was NBC (4.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with an encore of "America's Got Talent" (4.72 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11) followed by new episodes of "Last Comic Standing" (4.47 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5) and "Dateline NBC" (5.47 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5).

Meanwhile, FOX (4.53 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up fresh installments of "Lie to Me" (5.51 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7) and "The Good Guys" (3.56 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.98 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.65 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (0.81 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research