nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, august 1, 2011)

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

ABC (9.44 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) claimed top honors on Monday thanks to the season finale of "The Bachelorette" (9.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) followed by "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" (9.31 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1).

FOX (5.41 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then took home the silver with new episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (5.45 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) and "Masterchef" (5.36 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4).

Next up was CBS (4.44 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with its repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (3.74 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6), "Mike & Molly" (4.06 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6), "Two and a Half Men" (5.24 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5), another "Mike & Molly" (4.81 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6) and "Hawaii Five-0" (4.40 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.62 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up its combination of "America's Got Talent" (4.45 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (3.25 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) and "Harry's Law" (3.16 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "Gossip Girl" (0.53 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "One Tree Hill" (0.48 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) on The CW (0.50 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Bachelorette (17.4%), Masterchef (0.0% vs. 7/18/11), Hell's Kitchen (-4.0%), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (-25.0% vs. 7/18/11).

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; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.6/4; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/2 in 18-49) tied "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 (8/2/10):

ABC (11.52 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) was the network to beat on Monday thanks to the season finale of "The Bachelorette" (11.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #2) and the follow-up special "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" (11.37 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1).

CBS (6.42 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then claimed the silver with its usual all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (4.85 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #9), "Rules of Engagement" (5.37 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6), "Two and a Half Men" (7.96 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4), "The Big Bang Theory" (8.25 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) and "CSI: Miami" (6.04 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8).

Next up was FOX (4.61 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with a new "Lie to Me" (5.53 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5) followed by the summer finale of "The Good Guys" (3.69 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.55 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up its mix of "America's Got Talent" (4.70 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #11), "Last Comic Standing" (4.18 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7) and "Dateline NBC" (4.79 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.87 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.57 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (0.72 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research