nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, july 27, 2012)

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

NBC (41.92 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.4, #1) towered over the competition on Friday thanks to its opening night coverage of the "2012 Summer Olympics" (41.92 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.4, #1).

ABC (3.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then was king of the leftovers with repeats of "Shark Tank" (2.52 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), "20/20" (2.68 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) and another "20/20" (3.95 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2).

Next up was CBS (3.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) and encores of "Undercover Boss" (2.92 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), "CSI: NY" (2.75 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.61 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) offered up repeats of "House" (1.37 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) and "Bones" (1.86 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "Nikita" (0.60 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10) and a second "Nikita" (0.54 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #11) on The CW (0.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night.

[NOTE #1: Late-night metered market ratings will return after the Olympics.]

[NOTE #2: Today's numbers are courtesy of TVMediaInsights.com due to delays from our usual sources.]

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/29/11):

ABC (3.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) was the demo king on Friday with its mix of "Shark Tank" (4.07 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2), "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (3.30 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) and "20/20" (4.28 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2).

NBC (4.69 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then was a competitive second place with a repeat of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (2.79 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #9) followed by a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (5.64 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1).

Also in the hunt was CBS (6.23 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with a new "Flashpoint" (6.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T2) followed by repeats of "CSI: NY" (6.01 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (6.05 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T6).

Next up was FOX (2.29 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) with repeats of "Bones" (2.62 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8) and "House" (1.97 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #10).

And finally, repeats of "Nikita" (1.13 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11) and "Supernatural" (1.01 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11) on The CW (1.07 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Dateline NBC (16.7%), 20/20 (9.1%), Flashpoint (9.1%).

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 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/3 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: �The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,� 0.7/3; "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" (1.4/4 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" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research