nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, september 20, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local market NFL preemptions, Fast Nationals for ABC and The CW are approximate.]

FOX (8.63 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) claimed top honors on Thursday with week two of "The X Factor" (9.85 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "Glee" (7.42 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2).

CBS (7.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) then claimed the silver despite an all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #5), another "The Big Bang Theory" (9.20 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3), "Two and a Half Men" (7.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6), another "Two and a Half Men" (6.78 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7) and "Person of Interest" (6.59 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T11).

Next up was NBC (4.04 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with the return of "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" (5.16 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9), "Up All Night" (3.14 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T11), "The Office" (4.32 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4), "Parks & Recreation" (3.52 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7) and a new "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (4.05 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14). All save for "SNL" posted huge year-to-year declines (see below for specifics).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up the season finale of "Wipeout" (4.35 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #10) followed by repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" (4.18 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T11) and "Scandal" (3.42 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #15).

And finally, a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.19 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.5, #17) and an original "The Next" (1.47 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16) on The CW (1.33 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "The Vampire Diaries" delivered a 0.5 rating while "The Next" posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
200.00% - The Next
27.27% - Wipeout
9.68% - The X Factor
-12.12% - Glee
-21.43% - Rock Center With Brian Williams

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-5.88% - Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday (vs. Community)
-12.82% - The X Factor (vs. The X Factor)
-33.33% - The Next (vs. The Secret Circle)
-33.33% - Wipeout (vs. Charlie's Angels)
-34.09% - Glee (vs. The X Factor)
-35.00% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation)
-38.89% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Prime Suspect)
-46.15% - The Office (vs. The Office)
-46.88% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Whitney)

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," 2.5/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.5/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). 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 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/22/11):

FOX (12.07 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) won the Thursday night of premiere week for the first time ever last night thanks to "The X Factor" (11.43 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.9, #T5) and a second hour of "The X Factor" (12.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.4, #3).

CBS (13.64 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #2) then was the most-watched network with the return of "The Big Bang Theory" (14.06 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.8, #2), a second "The Big Bang Theory" (14.65 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1), the premiere of "Person of Interest" (13.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.1, #9) and the season premiere of "The Mentalist" (13.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #10).

Next up was ABC (9.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3) with the launch of "Charlie's Angels" (8.74 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #11) followed by the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" (10.11 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.9, #T5) and a second hour of "Grey's Anatomy" (10.53 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.3, #4).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #4) offered up the return of "Community" (3.98 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.7, #14), "Parks & Recreation" (4.11 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #12) and "The Office" (7.63 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 3.9, #T5) followed by the debuts of "Whitney" (6.71 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 3.2, #8) and "Prime Suspect" (6.00 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.8, #13).

And finally, week two of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.49 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #15) and "The Secret Circle" (2.05 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #16) rounded out the night on The CW (2.27 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 1.6 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-14.29% - The Vampire Diaries
-30.77% - The Secret Circle

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+109.52% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Fringe)
+44.44% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Bones)
+31.25% - Charlie's Angels (vs. My Generation)
+30.30% - Grey's Anatomy - 10:00 (vs. Private Practice)
+28.57% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Apprentice)
+28.21% - The Big Bang Theory - 8:30 (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
0.00% - The Big Bang Theory - 8:00
-8.57% - Whitney (vs. Outsourced)
-8.82% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-9.30% - The Office
-15.15% - The Mentalist
-18.18% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita)
-22.73% - Community
-23.08% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
-25.00% - The Vampire Diaries
-26.42% - Grey's Anatomy - 9:00

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," 2.9/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.8/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 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