nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, october 26, 2011)

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

ABC (9.52 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) took home the top spot on Wednesday thanks to its mix of "The Middle" (10.19 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5), "Suburgatory" (9.83 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #T3), a repeat of "Modern Family" (11.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1), "Happy Endings" (8.34 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) and "Revenge" (8.71 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T6).

CBS (10.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then got bumped to second place with a new "Survivor: South Pacific" (11.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #T3) followed by repeats of "Criminal Minds" (11.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T6) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (9.01 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #8).

Next up was NBC (3.96 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with its all-repeat lineup of "Up All Night" (3.81 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10), "Whitney" (4.11 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9), "Harry's Law" (4.42 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12) and "Prime Suspect" (3.51 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4) offered up repeats of "Glee" (2.48 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T14) and another "Glee" (2.32 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T14) due to the World Series rain delay.

And finally, a repeat of "Ringer" (1.29 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) led into a new "America's Next Top Model" (2.23 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) on The CW (1.76 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Ringer" posted a 0.4 rating while "Top Model" delivered a 1.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - America's Next Top Model
+16.67% - Happy Endings
+12.00% - Revenge
+9.68% - Suburgatory
+6.90% - The Middle
+3.03% - Survivor: South Pacific

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+133.33% - Revenge (vs. The Whole Truth)
+36.00% - Suburgatory (vs. Better With You)
+10.71% - The Middle
+6.06% - Happy Endings (vs. Cougar Town)
0.00% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Hellcats)
0.00% - Survivor: South Pacific

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," 2.6/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.5/8; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.3/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

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" with an encore (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/4 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 (10/27/10):

FOX (13.44 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.3, #1) rode its coverage of the "World Series, Game 1" (13.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.3, #2) to victory on Wednesday.

CBS (11.81 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) then had to settle for second place with its mix of "Survivor: Nicaragua" (11.63 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.4, #T3), "Criminal Minds" (13.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #T3) and "The Defenders" (9.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #8).

Next up was ABC (7.94 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with new episodes of "The Middle" (9.43 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6), "Better With You" (7.76 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.5, #7), "Modern Family" (13.07 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1), "Cougar Town" (8.26 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.3, #5) and "The Whole Truth" (4.56 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up a fresh installment of "Undercovers" (5.41 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9) followed by repeats of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.82 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10) and "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (4.49 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12).

And finally, a new "America's Next Top Model" (2.77 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10) and "Hellcats" (2.16 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) closed out the night on The CW (2.47 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Better With You (19.00%), Hellcats (11.10%), Modern Family (8.50%), The Middle (7.70%), Cougar Town (6.50%), America's Next Top Model (0.00%), Survivor: Nicaragua (-2.90%), The Defenders (-4.50%), Criminal Minds (-5.60%), Undercovers (-6.70%), The Whole Truth (-14.30%).

In late-night metered market ratings, NBC's "Leno" (3.0/7) took top honors over ABC's "Nightline" (2.7/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.7/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.5/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.4/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.5/5) and "Daly" (0.9/4) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research