nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, october 4, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 16 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 CBS and The CW are approximate.]

CBS (13.29 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with week two of "The Big Bang Theory" (15.38 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (12.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.7, #T2), "Person of Interest" (14.62 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T4) and "Elementary" (11.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6).

FOX (7.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then claimed the silver with originals from "The X Factor" (9.14 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.1, #T4) and "Glee" (6.21 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6).

Next up was ABC (8.42 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) with its second week of "Last Resort" (7.87 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11), "Grey's Anatomy" (10.56 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #T2) and "Scandal" (6.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up the return of "30 Rock" (3.40 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #13) alongside new episodes of "Up All Night" (3.09 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12), "The Office" (4.11 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8), "Parks & Recreation" (3.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.39 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14).

And finally, a new "The Next" (0.80 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) led into the season finale of "The Next" (1.00 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) on The CW (0.90 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "The Next" delivered a 0.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+6.90% - Person of Interest
+5.71% - Two and a Half Men
+4.00% - Glee
+2.08% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - The Next
-3.13% - The X Factor
-4.55% - Scandal
-8.33% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
-9.52% - Parks & Recreation
-12.50% - The Office
-13.95% - Grey's Anatomy
-16.13% - Elementary
-18.18% - Last Resort
-22.22% - Up All Night

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Last Resort (vs. Charlie's Angels)
+48.00% - Two and a Half Men (vs. How to Be a Gentleman)
+24.00% - Person of Interest
+23.33% - Grey's Anatomy
+11.36% - The Big Bang Theory
-3.70% - Elementary (vs. The Mentalist)
-4.55% - Scandal (vs. Private Practice)
-11.43% - The X Factor
-13.33% - 30 Rock (vs. Community)
-17.39% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Whitney)
-26.32% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation)
-26.67% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Prime Suspect)
-32.26% - The Office
-36.59% - Glee (vs. The X Factor)
-62.50% - The Next - 9:00 (vs. The Secret Circle)
-75.00% - The Next - 8:00 (vs. The Vampire Diaries)

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," 2.5/6; 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," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 in metered-market households 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 (10/6/11):

FOX (11.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #1) was once again the demo king on Thursday with a new "The X Factor" (10.59 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3) and second hour of "The X Factor" (11.82 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2).

CBS (11.69 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) then was the most-watched network with fresh installments of "The Big Bang Theory" (13.63 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1), "How to Be a Gentleman" (7.82 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T7), "Person of Interest" (11.46 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T7) and "The Mentalist" (12.89 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6).

Next up was ABC (6.88 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with its lineup of "Charlie's Angels" (5.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T14), "Grey's Anatomy" (8.50 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5) and "Private Practice" (6.21 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) was out of the hunt with new episodes of "Community" (3.37 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12), "Parks & Recreation" (4.13 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.9, #11), "The Office" (5.71 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 3.1, #4), "Whitney" (4.88 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.3, #9) and "Prime Suspect" (4.93 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.55 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T14) and "The Secret Circle" (1.96 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16) closed out the evening on The CW (2.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 1.9 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+8.00% - The Mentalist
0.00% - Prime Suspect
-2.38% - The X Factor - 9:00
-2.78% - The X Factor - 8:00
-7.41% - How to Be a Gentleman
-7.41% - Person of Interest
-7.69% - The Vampire Diaries
-8.00% - Whitney
-8.33% - The Big Bang Theory
-8.82% - The Office
-9.52% - Parks & Recreation
-11.11% - The Secret Circle
-14.29% - Grey's Anatomy
-16.67% - Community
-20.00% - Charlie's Angels
-21.43% - Private Practice

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+105.00% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Fringe)
+34.62% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Bones)
+15.38% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Apprentice)
+10.00% - The Big Bang Theory
+9.09% - Charlie's Angels (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
-7.41% - Person of Interest (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-8.00% - Whitney (vs. Outsourced)
-8.82% - The Office
-9.52% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
-10.00% - The Mentalist
-10.71% - How to Be a Gentleman (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
-11.76% - Community
-24.14% - Private Practice
-25.00% - The Vampire Diaries
-27.27% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita)
-33.33% - Grey's Anatomy

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," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/7; 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," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

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" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research