nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for tuesday, july 24, 2012)

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

FOX (6.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) topped the demo charts on Tuesday with new episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (6.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T1) and "MasterChef" (6.16 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T1).

NBC (8.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) then had to settle for second place despite a two-hour "America's Got Talent" (10.28 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T1) and the season finale of "Love in the Wild" (4.50 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4).

Next up was CBS (6.26 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its all-repeat lineup of "NCIS" (7.14 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (6.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5) and "Person of Interest" (5.56 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.14 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) offered up repeats of "The Middle" (3.63 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #9) and "Last Man Standing" (2.80 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #10) followed by originals from "Trust Us With Your Life" (1.94 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11), another "Trust Us With Your Life" (1.83 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) and "NY Med" (4.33 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T5).

And finally, repeat of "Hart of Dixie" (0.70 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and a new "The L.A. Complex" (0.39 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.55 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Dixie" delivered a 0.4 rating while "Complex" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+8.33% - Hell's Kitchen
+4.00% - MasterChef
0.00% - America's Got Talent
0.00% - Love in the Wild
0.00% - NY Med
-33.33% - The L.A. Complex
-33.33% - Trust Us With Your Life

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):

+22.22% - NY Med (vs. Combat Hospital)
+18.18% - America's Got Talent (vs. It's Worth What?/America's Got Talent)
+8.33% - MasterChef
0.00% - Hell's Kitchen
0.00% - The L.A. Complex (vs. Shedding for the Wedding (Repeat))
-56.67% - Love in the Wild (vs. America's Got Talent)
-57.14% - Trust Us With Your Life (vs. 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show)

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," 2.6/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; 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," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/4). 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 0.7/3 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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/26/11):

NBC (9.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T1) was Tuesday's top draw with week two of "It's Worth What?" (5.41 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4) and a new two-hour "America's Got Talent" (11.23 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1).

Sharing the demo crown was FOX (5.85 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T1) with new episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (5.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) and "Masterchef" (5.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3).

Next up was ABC (4.34 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (4.89 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) followed by the season finale of "101 Ways to Leave a Game Show" (4.37 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T4) and a new "Combat Hospital" (3.77 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10).

Meanwhile, CBS (6.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up repeats of "NCIS" (8.74 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (6.50 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #8) and "48 Hours Mystery" (5.38 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9).

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.80 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #11) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (0.66 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) on The CW (0.73 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Combat Hospital (12.5%), Masterchef (9.1%), Hell's Kitchen (4.0%), 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show (-6.7%), America's Got Talent (-9.1%), It's Worth What? (-22.2%).

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," 3.1/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/3.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.1/5; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 0.9/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

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" (0.7/4 in 18-49) 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