nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, november 21, 2011)

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

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

CBS (11.97 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1) was the top demo draw on Monday with its usual mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (10.07 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.3, #3), "2 Broke Girls" (11.19 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.4, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (15.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1), "Mike & Molly" (13.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.2, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (10.34 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6).

A silver medal then went to ABC (14.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) with the penultimate installment of "Dancing With the Stars" (20.04 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #5), the series premiere of "You Deserve It" (10.05 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T9) and a new "Castle" (11.92 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

Next up was FOX (6.92 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) with fresh installments of "Terra Nova" (6.49 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T9) and "House" (7.34 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.5, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.04 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) continued to struggle with its pairing of "The Sing-Off" (4.25 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #11) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.63 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "Gossip Girl" (1.48 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) and "Hart of Dixie" (1.79 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) on The CW (1.64 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) rounded out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Gossip Girl" delivered a 1.3 rating while "Dixie" posted a 1.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - Hart of Dixie
+16.67% - Gossip Girl
+8.00% - Castle (vs. 11/7/11)
+5.88% - Dancing With the Stars
0.00% - House
-1.89% - Two and a Half Men
-4.44% - How I Met Your Mother
-4.55% - Mike & Molly
-6.67% - The Sing-Off
-8.33% - 2 Broke Girls
-8.70% - Terra Nova
-15.15% - Hawaii Five-0
-30.77% - Rock Center With Brian Williams

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+133.33% - Hart of Dixie (vs. Gossip Girl (Repeat))
+133.33% - Gossip Girl (vs. 90210 (Repeat))
+51.72% - 2 Broke Girls (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+38.89% - House (vs. Lie to Me)
+22.86% - How I Met Your Mother
+22.73% - Castle (vs. Skating With the Stars)
+15.56% - Two and a Half Men
+5.00% - Mike & Molly
-12.50% - Hawaii Five-0
-17.65% - The Sing-Off (vs. Chuck/The Event)
-23.40% - Dancing With the Stars
-35.71% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Chase)
-36.36% - You Deserve It (vs. Dancing With the Stars/Skating With the Stars)
-38.24% - Terra Nova (vs. House)

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," 2.7/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 4.0/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.8/3; "Nightline," 1.3/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/2 in 18-49) trailed "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 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 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/22/10):

CBS (11.43 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) escaped with the adults 18-49 crown on Monday thanks to new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.98 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.5, #5), "Rules of Engagement" (8.13 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.9, #8), "Two and a Half Men" (14.31 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.5, #2), "Mike & Molly" (12.99 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.0, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (12.09 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.2, #7).

Second place then fell to ABC (15.13 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) with a one-hour "Dancing With the Stars" (23.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1), a half-hour"Dancing With the Stars Overrun/Skating With the Stars" (19.45 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.4, #3) and the concluding 90 minutes of "Skating With the Stars" (8.27 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #9).

Next up was FOX (7.48 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) with new episodes of "House" (9.24 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.4, #6) and "Lie to Me" (5.72 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.10 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) was out of the hunt with its mix of "Chuck" (4.80 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T11), "The Event" (5.18 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T11) and "Chase" (5.33 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #13).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.89 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) and "Gossip Girl" (0.84 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) on The CW (0.86 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Dancing With the Stars (17.50%), Chase (16.70%), Hawaii Five-0 (14.30%), Mike & Molly (5.30%), The Event (0.00%), How I Met Your Mother (0.00%), Rules of Engagement (0.00%), Two and a Half Men (0.00%), Chuck (-5.60%), Lie to Me (-10.00%), House (-15.00%).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.2/8) took top honors ahead of CBS's "Letterman" (3.0/7) and NBC's "Leno" (2.8/7). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.7/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.4/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.3/4) and "Daly" (0.8/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research