nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, march 28, 2012)

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

FOX (17.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday with another two-hour "American Idol" (17.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1).

CBS (8.29 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then claimed a distant second place with a new "Survivor: One World" (9.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) followed by repeats of "Criminal Minds" (7.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.82 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5).

Next up was ABC (4.28 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with repeats of "The Middle" (4.27 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Suburgatory" (3.84 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8) and "Modern Family" (5.27 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3) plus a new "Happy Endings" (4.17 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3) and an encore of "Missing" (4.06 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.14 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up the season finales of "Whitney" (4.16 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7) and "Are You There, Chelsea?" (3.14 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8) alongside week two of "Bent" (2.63 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11) and a second "Bent" (2.36 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) plus a new "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13).

And finally, new episodes of "One Tree Hill" (1.28 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16) and "America's Next Top Model" (1.40 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) on The CW (1.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Hill" delivered a 1.2 rating while "Top Model" posted a 0.8 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - America's Next Top Model
+14.29% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+5.56% - Happy Endings
+3.70% - Survivor: One World
+2.04% - American Idol
-6.25% - Whitney
-10.00% - Bent - 9:00
-11.11% - Bent - 9:30
-14.29% - Are You There, Chelsea?
-14.29% - One Tree Hill

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Shedding for the Wedding)
+36.36% - Whitney (vs. Minute to Win It)
+35.71% - Happy Endings (vs. Mr. Sunshine)
+9.09% - Are You There, Chelsea? (vs. Minute to Win It)
-3.45% - Survivor: One World
-10.00% - Bent - 9:00 (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-20.00% - Bent - 9:30 (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-33.33% - American Idol
-33.33% - One Tree Hill (vs. America's Next Top Model)
-66.67% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)

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; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; 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," 0.6/3; "Late Show," 0.5/3; "Nightline," 0.8/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market household) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-4) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 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 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/30/11):

FOX (23.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.5, #1) made short work of the competition thanks to a new two-hour "American Idol" (23.57 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.5, #1).

CBS (10.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then won the war for the leftovers with its mix of "Survivor: Redemption Island" (10.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3), "Criminal Minds" (12.85 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) and "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (9.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #5).

Next up was NBC (5.37 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T3) and its mix of "Minute to Win It" (4.22 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11), a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.58 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12) and a new "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (8.30 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #4).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T3) offered up repeats of "The Middle" (5.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T7), another "The Middle" (5.00 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T7), "Modern Family" (5.39 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #6) followed by new episodes of "Mr. Sunshine" (4.08 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9) and "Off the Map" (4.17 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10).

And finally, fresh installments of "America's Next Top Model" (2.15 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (0.98 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #14) on The CW (1.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (4.50%), Shedding for the Wedding (0.00%), American Idol (-2.60%), Survivor: Redemption Island (-3.30%), Criminal Minds (-5.60% vs. 3/16/11), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (-7.70%), Minute to Win It (-8.30%), America's Next Top Model (-10.00%), Off the Map (-13.30%), Mr. Sunshine (-36.40%).

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," 3.2/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "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" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research