nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, november 10, 2011)

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

FOX (9.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) edged out the competition on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "The X Factor" (10.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4) and "Bones" (8.83 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

CBS (10.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then claimed the silver with fresh installments of "The Big Bang Theory" (15.66 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) and "Rules of Engagement" (11.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #3) followed by repeats of "Person of Interest" (9.10 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) and "The Mentalist" (10.01 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10).

Next up was ABC (7.99 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with the departing "Charlie's Angels" (5.13 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #15) alongside new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (11.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.67 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) still struggled with its lineup of "Community" (3.47 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #12), "Parks & Recreation" (3.59 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11), "The Office" (5.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5), "Whitney" (4.30 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.1, #8) and "Prime Suspect" (4.81 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14).

And finally, the fall finales of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.33 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.4, #13) and "The Secret Circle" (2.16 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16) on The CW (2.74 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 2.1 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - Grey's Anatomy
+11.54% - Private Practice
+1.96% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - Whitney
0.00% - Prime Suspect
-2.70% - Rules of Engagement
-3.23% - The Office
-6.67% - The Vampire Diaries
-8.33% - Charlie's Angels
-8.33% - The X Factor
-10.00% - Parks & Recreation
-11.11% - The Secret Circle
-11.76% - Community
-18.18% - Bones

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+42.11% - Bones (vs. Fringe)
+32.00% - The X Factor (vs. Bones)
+28.57% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
+23.81% - The Big Bang Theory
+10.00% - Charlie's Angels (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
0.00% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Private Practice
-11.11% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita)
-12.50% - The Vampire Diaries
-21.05% - The Office
-25.00% - Whitney (vs. Outsourced)
-25.00% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Apprentice)
-28.57% - Community
-30.77% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; 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," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 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 0.4/3 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 (11/11/10):

CBS (12.70 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday thanks to a full slate of new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (13.06 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (9.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T5), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (12.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T5) and "The Mentalist" (13.78 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T5).

The silver then went to ABC (7.79 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) with new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (11.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) and "Private Practice" (8.26 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4). Leading off the night was a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" (4.04 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15).

Next up was NBC (5.58 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) with fresh installments of "Community" (4.89 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #11), "30 Rock" (5.66 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.6, #9), "The Office" (7.70 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3), "Outsourced" (6.05 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T5) and "The Apprentice" (4.58 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T13).

Meanwhile, FOX (6.99 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) offered up new episodes of "Bones" (9.15 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.5, #10) and "Fringe" (4.83 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.51 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T13) and "Nikita" (2.33 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #16) on The CW (2.92 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Apprentice (14.30%), Community (10.50%), 30 Rock (8.30%), Fringe (5.60%), Outsourced (3.70%), The Office (2.70%), Bones (0.00%), The Vampire Diaries (0.00%), Nikita (0.00%), The Mentalist (-3.40%), Grey's Anatomy (-7.00%), The Big Bang Theory (-8.70%), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (-15.20%), Bleep My Dad Says (-17.60%), Private Practice (-25.60%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.5/8) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.2/8) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.8/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.7/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research