nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, july 28, 2012)

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

NBC (27.41 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.2, #1) again overshadowed the competition on Saturday with its primetime coverage of the "2012 Summer Olympics" (27.41 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.2, #1).

FOX (2.23 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then was a very distant second place with repeats of "Cops" (2.57 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3), another "Cops" (3.03 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) and "Mobbed" (1.66 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Next up was CBS (2.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) with an original "NYC 22" (2.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) followed by repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (2.70 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "48 Hours Mystery" (3.33 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

And finally, repeats of a two-hour "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (1.78 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and "Castle" (2.12 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) on ABC (1.89 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) 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 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/30/11):

FOX (2.64 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) lead the demo race on Saturday with a full hour of "Cops" (3.22 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) followed by repeats of "Family Guy" (2.14 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2) and "The Cleveland Show" (1.97 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5).

CBS (4.46 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then claimed total viewership honors with repeats of "The Mentalist" (3.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #10), "48 Hours Mystery" (4.28 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8) and "48 Hours Mystery" (5.70 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T2).

Next up was NBC (3.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with encores of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (2.42 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #9), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (3.24 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4).

And finally, ABC (2.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) closed out the evening with a rebroadcast of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2.48 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

An encore telecast of �Saturday Night Live� (3.3/8 in metered-market households), hosted by Emma Stone with musical guest Kings of Leon, dominated its time period. Versus the same night last year, "SNL" is up 3 percent (3.3 vs. 3.2).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, �Saturday Night Live� averaged a 1.8 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49, making it the #1 telecast of the night ahead of all primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. In the Local People Meters, "SNL" is up 13 percent versus the same night last year (1.8 vs. 1.6).

Source: Nielsen Media Research