nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, november 24, 2011)

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

CBS (8.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) again was the network to beat on Thursday with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1), "Rules of Engagement" (7.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2), "Person of Interest" (7.97 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5) and "The Mentalist" (7.76 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #9).

FOX (5.10 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then snagged the silver with its mix of "Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas" (7.07 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3), "Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown" (4.96 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6) and "The Simpsons" (3.42 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6).

Next up was ABC (5.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) and its combination of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (5.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4), "The Middle" (4.25 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10) and "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (5.51 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.69 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up the feature "Horton Hears a Who" (3.69 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) followed by the special "The 85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" (3.69 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.99 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "The Secret Circle" (0.78 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.88 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night.

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," 2.4/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.4/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

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.

[NOTE: Today's numbers are courtesy of TVMediaInsights.com due to delays from our usual sources.]

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/25/10):

FOX (7.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) with a boost from its NFL afternoon coverage was the network to beat on Thanksgiving with the broadcast premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" (7.57 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1).

CBS (6.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.36 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4), "Bleep My Dad Says" (6.05 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6), another "The Big Bang Theory" (7.14 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2), "Mike & Molly" (6.50 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) and "The Mentalist" (7.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T4).

Next up was ABC (4.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with repeats of "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (4.99 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6) and "Modern Family" (4.17 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8) followed by the special "Beyonce: I Am" (4.13 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.97 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up its first-run lineup of "Taylor Swift - Speak Now" (4.42 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10), "NBC's People of the Year" (4.41 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) and "The Apprentice" (3.37 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.24 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14) and "Nikita" (3.20 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T11) on TCW (2.72 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Apprentice (-25.00%).

In late-night metered market ratings, NBC's "Leno" (2.5/6) took top honors over ABC's "Nightline" (2.3/5) and CBS's "Letterman" (2.3/6). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.1/3) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.3/4) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.3/4) and "Daly" (0.5/2) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research