nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, october 31, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (7.37 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) topped a tight race on Wednesday with new episodes of "The X Factor" (6.92 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5) and a second "The X Factor" (7.83 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #3).

CBS (10.88 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) then was a close second place with originals from "Survivor: Philippines" (9.80 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5), "Criminal Minds" (11.99 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (10.84 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

Next up was ABC (7.02 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) with its annual rebroadcast of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (7.94 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.7, #4) followed by new episodes of "The Neighbors" (5.75 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T8), "Modern Family" (10.41 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1), "Suburgatory" (6.38 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5) and "Nashville" (5.79 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.13 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up a special "30 Rock" (3.58 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13) alongside originals of "Guys With Kids" (3.81 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (6.23 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #10) and "Chicago Fire" (5.47 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11).

And finally on The CW (2.73 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.0, #5), new episodes of "Arrow" (3.35 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) and "Supernatural" (2.11 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Arrow" delivered a 0.9 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.9 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - Supernatural
+7.69% - Guys With Kids
-3.33% - Criminal Minds
-4.17% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
-5.56% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-7.69% - 30 Rock (vs. 10/25/12)
-9.09% - Arrow
-10.00% - Nashville
-10.00% - The Neighbors
-11.11% - Suburgatory
-14.29% - Survivor: Philippines
-16.33% - Modern Family
-16.67% - Chicago Fire
-22.22% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. 10/10/12)
-25.00% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. 10/10/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+150.00% - Arrow (vs. Ringer (Repeat))
+54.55% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Harry's Law)
+16.67% - Guys With Kids (vs. Up All Night (Repeat))
+12.50% - Supernatural (vs. America's Next Top Model)
-14.81% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
-19.44% - Criminal Minds
-25.00% - Chicago Fire (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
-26.79% - Modern Family
-31.43% - Suburgatory (vs. Happy Endings)
-31.43% - Survivor: Philippines
-31.71% - The X Factor - 9:00
-33.33% - 30 Rock (vs. Up All Night)
-35.14% - The X Factor - 8:00
-40.00% - Nashville (vs. Revenge)
-41.94% - The Neighbors (vs. Suburgatory)

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," 2.8/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/6.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.8/5.

* 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) beat "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 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 (11/2/11):

FOX (11.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) was the demo king on Wednesday thanks to new episodes of "The X Factor" (11.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) and another "The X Factor" (11.81 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2).

CBS (11.77 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3) then was the most-watched network with fresh installments of "Survivor: South Pacific" (11.87 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #5), "Criminal Minds" (12.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (10.64 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #10).

Next up was ABC (9.35 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2) with new episodes of "The Middle" (9.35 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.9, #9), "Suburgatory" (8.49 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.1, #7), "Modern Family" (13.25 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1), "Happy Endings" (7.85 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 3.5, #6) and "Revenge" (8.57 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.0, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) continued to struggle with its mix of "Up All Night" (4.75 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.8, #12), a repeat of "Up All Night" (3.39 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13) and new episodes of "Harry's Law" (7.09 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.04 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11).

And finally, a repeat of "Ringer" (1.20 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) led into a new "America's Next Top Model" (1.80 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) on The CW (1.50 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+7.14% - Revenge
+5.13% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. 10/5/11)
+3.85% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (vs. 10/19/11)
+2.94% - Survivor: South Pacific
0.00% - Modern Family (vs. 10/19/11)
0.00% - Happy Endings
-4.76% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. 10/19/11)
-5.13% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. 10/5/11)
-6.45% - The Middle
-7.69% - Criminal Minds (vs. 10/19/11)
-8.33% - Harry's Law (vs. 10/19/11)
-8.82% - Suburgatory
-14.29% - Up All Night (vs. 10/19/11)
-20.00% - America's Next Top Model

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+192.86% - The X Factor - 9:00 (vs. Hell's Kitchen (Repeat))
+184.62% - The X Factor - 8:00 (vs. Hell's Kitchen (Repeat))
+57.89% - Revenge (vs. In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville)
+38.46% - Up All Night (vs. Undercovers)
+24.00% - Suburgatory (vs. Better With You)
+17.39% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (vs. The Defenders)
+16.67% - Modern Family
+16.67% - Happy Endings (vs. Cougar Town)
+5.26% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Law & Order: Los Angeles)
0.00% - The Middle
-5.26% - Criminal Minds
-5.41% - Survivor: South Pacific
-11.11% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Hellcats)
-47.62% - Harry's Law (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

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" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research