nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, july 4, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

NBC (5.50 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1) was top holiday draw thanks to its mix of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" (4.15 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3), "Up All Night" (2.30 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular" (7.87 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) and a rebroadcast of "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular" (5.41 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2).

CBS (4.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "Dogs in the City" (3.47 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9) and "Criminal Minds" (4.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) followed by "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" (5.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #6).

Next up was ABC (2.72 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with encores of "The Middle" (2.77 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16), "Suburgatory" (2.35 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), "Modern Family" (2.71 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4), another "Modern Family" (2.68 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4) and a new "Final Witness" (2.91 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.57 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up its all-repeat lineup of "New Girl" (1.79 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), another "New Girl" (1.57 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), yet another "New Girl" (1.43 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9) and even more "New Girl" (1.50 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "America's Next Top Model" (0.69 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T17) plus another "America's Next Top Model" (0.70 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T17) on The CW (0.69 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Top Model" delivered a 0.2 rating at 8:00/7:00c and a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-30.00% - Final Witness

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-42.86% - Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Repeat)) -46.15% - Final Witness (vs. Primetime Nightline) -51.43% - Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (vs. America's Got Talent)

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," 2.3/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.8/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/7; 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," 0.6/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.1/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 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 0.7/3 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 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/6/11):

FOX (6.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) reclaimed the top spot on Wednesday with a new two-hour "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.34 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2).

NBC (7.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then got bumped to second place with the return of "Minute to Win It" (5.32 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4) followed by new episodes of "America's Got Talent" (12.51 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) and "Love in the Wild" (5.68 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3).

Next up was CBS (5.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with encores of "Undercover Boss" (4.32 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T10), "Criminal Minds" (6.01 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.16 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its mix of "The Middle" (4.22 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9), "The Middle" (3.91 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T10), "Modern Family" (3.85 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #8), "Happy Endings" (2.54 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12) and a new "Primetime Nightline" (5.42 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "America's Next Top Model" (1.07 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) and another "America's Next Top Model" (0.91 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) on The CW (0.99 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): So You Think You Can Dance (26.30%), Primetime Nightline (8.30%), Minute to Win It (7.70% vs. 6/8/11), America's Got Talent (-12.50%), Love in the Wild (-13.60%).

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," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) with an encore topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research