nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, august 30, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (8.76 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) rose to the top on Tuesday thanks to fresh installments of "It's Worth What?" (4.49 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #7) and "America's Got Talent" (10.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1).

ABC (4.40 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) and CBS (8.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T2) split the silver as the latter offered up repeats of "NCIS" (8.86 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T5), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (8.65 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) and another "NCIS" (7.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T5).

The Alphabet then offered up a repeat of "Wipeout" (5.89 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) followed by new episodes of "Take the Money and Run" (3.93 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) and "Combat Hospital" (3.37 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #8).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.37 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "Glee" (2.56 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9), "Raising Hope" (2.21 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) and another "Raising Hope" (2.12 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.75 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (0.54 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): It's Worth What? (9.1%), America's Got Talent (-3.2%), Take the Money and Run (-6.3%), Combat Hospital (-10.0%).

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

Note: Currently available metered-market averages exclude numerous major markets, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore, and are therefore subject to significant revision.

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets (with several major markets currently excluded), household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.2/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.6/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.0/3 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters (with several major markets currently excluded), adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.5/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 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 (8/31/10):

NBC (9.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) was the network to beat on Tuesday thanks to its mix of an "NBC News Special" (5.70 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7), "Minute to Win It" (6.03 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3) and a two-hour "America's Got Talent" (11.31 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1).

The silver then went to ABC (5.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) and its combination of an "ABC News Special" (6.43 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3), "Wipeout" (6.46 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2), the season finale of "Shaq Vs." (3.97 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5) and the return of "Primetime: Crime" (3.08 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13).

Next up was FOX (3.50 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with its "FOX News Special" (3.12 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) followed by repeats of "Glee" (3.59 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7) and another "Glee" (3.71 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6).

Meanwhile, CBS (7.12 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its "CBS News Special" (6.77 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) and repeats of "NCIS" (8.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.28 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T7) and "The Good Wife" (5.12 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14).

And finally, second runs of "Plain Jane" (1.18 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Life Unexpected" (0.66 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (0.92 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

In late-night metered market ratings, NBC's "Leno" (3.2/8) took top honors over ABC's "Nightline" (2.6/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.2/6). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.2/4) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.0/4) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.5/5) and "Daly" (0.9/4) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research