nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, april 2, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for CBS are approximate.]

Kentucky's victory at the "NCAA Basketball Championship" (19.31 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.0, #1) not surprisingly put CBS (14.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1) on top last night. Said numbers were on par with last year's Connecticut win (18.69 million viewers; adults 18-49: 6.7). Leading into said coverage were repeats of "2 Broke Girls" (8.27 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T6) and "Two and a Half Men" (8.50 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.6, #5) plus the "NCAA Basketball Championship Pre-Game" (13.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.4, #2).

ABC (15.05 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) however managed to be the most-watched network with new episodes of "Dancing With the Stars" (16.54 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4) and "Castle" (12.06 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8).

Next up was NBC (9.15 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) with fresh installments of "The Voice" (10.67 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.1, #3) and "Smash" (6.09 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8).

Meanwhile, FOX (7.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #4) offered up the return of "Bones" (8.19 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T6) and "House" (6.72 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8).

And finally, The CW (0.90 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) likewise served up the return of "Gossip Girl" (1.06 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #11) plus a repeat of "Hart of Dixie" (0.73 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) to close out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Gossip" delivered a 1.0 rating while "Dixie" posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+10.00% - House (vs. 3/19/12)
+4.17% - Bones (vs. 1/12/12)
0.00% - Smash
0.00% - Gossip Girl (vs. 2/27/12)
-6.82% - The Voice
-8.33% - Castle
-9.68% - Dancing With the Stars

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+355.56% - The Voice (vs. Chuck (Repeat)/The Event)
+83.33% - House (vs. The Chicago Code (Repeat))
+78.57% - Bones (vs. House (Repeat))
+69.23% - Smash (vs. Harry's Law)
+66.67% - Gossip Girl (vs. 90210 (Repeat))
+4.48% - NCAA Basketball Championship
0.00% - NCAA Basketball Championship Pre-Game
-24.14% - Castle
-39.13% - Dancing With the Stars

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," 3.0/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.8/6 with an encore delayed by basketball; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.9/9; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/4 with an encore delayed by basketball; "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" (1.5/6 delayed by basketball). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.5/3 delayed by basketball).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/4/11):

CBS (14.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) was the network to beat on Monday thanks to its coverage of the "NCAA Basketball Championship" (18.69 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 6.7, #1). Leading into the broadcast were repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.60 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T4), "Rules of Engagement" (7.38 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6) and the "NCAA Basketball Championship Pre-Game" (13.29 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.4, #3).

ABC (18.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) then took home the silver with fresh installments of "Dancing With the Stars" (21.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.6, #2) and "Castle" (11.70 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T4).

Next up was FOX (4.16 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with encores of "House" (4.44 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #7) and "The Chicago Code" (3.88 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.60 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) was out of the hunt with a repeat of "Chuck" (2.46 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #11) followed by a new "The Event" (3.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T9) and the season finale of "Harry's Law" (7.40 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8), a series low.

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.86 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.68 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #12) on The CW (0.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Event (0.00%), Dancing With the Stars (-9.80%), Castle (-12.10%), Harry's Law (-18.80%).

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," 2.1/7 with an encore delayed by basketball; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.9/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/6.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.7/4 with an encore delayed by basketball; "Nightline," 1.3/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/5, delayed by basketball). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2, delayed by basketball).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 with an encore in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research