nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, march 1, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (18.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.3, #1) dominated its mostly repeat competition on Thursday thanks to a special two-hour "American Idol" (18.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.3, #1).

CBS (9.47 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then took home the silver with a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.11 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2), the season finale of "Rob" (9.00 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) and repeats of "Person of Interest" (9.48 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) and "The Mentalist" (8.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7).

Next up was NBC (4.75 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with fresh installments of "30 Rock" (3.77 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #10), "Parks & Recreation" (3.78 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7), "The Office" (4.96 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #4), "Up All Night" (3.48 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) plus the debut of "Awake" (6.25 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5). Said launch numbers marked NBC's highest non-sports rating in this time period since May 19, 2011 and biggest overall audience since April 15, 2010.

Meanwhile, ABC (3.68 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its all-repeat lineup of "Winter Wipeout" (4.55 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11), "Grey's Anatomy" (3.44 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12) and "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards" (3.04 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13).

And finally, encores of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.11 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #14) and "Supernatural" (0.95 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #15) on The CW (1.03 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.6 rating while "Supernatural" delivered a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.45% - American Idol
0.00% - Parks & Recreation
-3.85% - The Office
-6.67% - 30 Rock
-11.11% - Up All Night
-13.33% - Rob

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+56.25% - The Office (vs. The Office (Repeat))
+46.15% - Awake (vs. The Office (Repeat)/The Office (Repeat))
+30.77% - Parks & Recreation (vs. The Office (Repeat))
+27.27% - 30 Rock (vs. The Office (Repeat))
+13.04% - Rob (vs. Rules of Engagement)
+6.67% - Up All Night (vs. The Office (Repeat))
-34.57% - American Idol

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," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; 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," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

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" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 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 (3/3/11):

FOX (24.96 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.1, #1) dominated its nearly all-repeat competition with a special two-hour "American Idol" (24.96 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.1, #1). Said numbers marked the highest rated Thursday night on any network in four years among adults 18-49 (since 3/8/07) and total viewers (since 3/1/07, excluding sports).

A distant second place then went to CBS (9.30 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (8.32 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (8.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5) and "The Mentalist" (10.43 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Next up was NBC (3.01 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with marathon lineup of "The Office" (2.99 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13), "The Office" (3.00 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10), "The Office" (3.24 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), "The Office" (3.09 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7), "The Office" (2.99 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and "The Office" (2.73 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T11).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) was likewise out of the hunt with its repeat combination of "Wipeout" (5.01 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8), "Grey's Anatomy" (3.97 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T11) and "Private Practice" (3.14 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.17 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) and "Nikita" (1.14 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.16 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): American Idol (12.5%), Rules of Engagement (-17.9%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.1/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 1.0/4; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

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" (0.6/4 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.6/4).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.5/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research