nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, november 17, 2011)

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

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for CW are inflated.]

CBS (12.21 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) took home the demo crown on Thursday for the first time this season thanks to new episodes "The Big Bang Theory" (14.83 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1), "Rules of Engagement" (11.04 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2), "Person of Interest" (11.60 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6) and "The Mentalist" (12.09 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T8).

FOX (9.14 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then claimed the silver with fresh installments of "The X Factor" (9.46 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3) and "Bones" (8.82 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #5).

Next up was ABC (7.46 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with a special "20/20" (8.04 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #13) followed by a new "Private Practice" (7.19 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T8) and a second hour of "Private Practice" (7.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) offered up its lineup of "Community" (3.63 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.6, #12), "Parks & Recreation" (3.71 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10), "The Office" (5.55 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4), "Whitney" (4.09 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11) and "Prime Suspect" (4.39 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14).

And finally, the feature "Beneath the Blue" (2.58 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) on The CW (2.58 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+11.11% - Parks & Recreation
+6.67% - Community
+3.70% - Bones
0.00% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - Rules of Engagement
-3.33% - The Office
-3.70% - Person of Interest
-8.33% - Prime Suspect
-9.09% - The X Factor
-9.52% - Whitney
-10.34% - Private Practice
-13.79% - The Mentalist

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+47.37% - Bones (vs. Fringe)
+20.93% - The Big Bang Theory
+16.13% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
+11.11% - The X Factor (vs. Bones)
-8.33% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Apprentice)
-13.04% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
-13.33% - Private Practice
-15.79% - Community
-16.67% - The Mentalist
-18.75% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-21.62% - The Office
-29.63% - Whitney (vs. Outsourced)

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," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.2/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.5/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 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 (11/18/10):

CBS (13.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (13.09 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.3, #T1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (10.28 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.16 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #4) and "The Mentalist" (14.66 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T6).

ABC (8.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then claimed a competitive second place with its mix of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (7.44 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #11), "Grey's Anatomy" (11.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.3, #T1) and "Private Practice" (8.10 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T6).

Next up was FOX (7.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) with fresh installments of "Bones" (9.41 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T8) and "Fringe" (4.93 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T12).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.90 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #4) served up its combination of "Community" (4.40 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T12), "30 Rock" (5.16 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.3, #10), "The Office" (7.24 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3), "Outsourced" (5.49 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T8) and "The Apprentice" (3.57 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.13 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T15) and "Nikita" (3.29 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T15) on The CW (3.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (14.30%), Bleep My Dad Says (10.70%), Bones (8.00%), Grey's Anatomy (7.50%), The Mentalist (7.10%), Private Practice (3.40%), The Big Bang Theory (2.40%), Fringe (0.00%), The Office (-2.60%), Outsourced (-3.60%), Community (-9.50%), 30 Rock (-11.50%), The Apprentice (-25.00%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.3/8) and NBC's "Leno" (3.3/8) split top honors over CBS's "Letterman" (3.0/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.6/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/6) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.5/5) and "Daly" (0.8/4) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research