nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, november 8, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 11 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 NBC are approximate.]

CBS (13.59 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (16.54 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1), "Two and a Half Men" (14.09 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2), "Person of Interest" (14.73 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #5) and "Elementary" (10.73 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #9).

FOX (6.01 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then claimed the silver with a new "The X Factor" (6.28 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8) followed by the return of "Glee" (5.73 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7).

Next up was ABC (7.09 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with originals of "Last Resort" (5.96 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12), "Grey's Anatomy" (9.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) and "Scandal" (6.12 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.0, #10).

Meanwhile, a special one-hour "The Voice" (9.09 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4) couldn't lift NBC (6.01 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) out of the number four spot. Following said telecast were new episodes of "The Office" (5.31 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.5, #6), "Parks & Recreation" (3.84 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (4.37 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.98 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12) and "Beauty and the Beast" (1.85 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) on The CW (2.42 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 2.2 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 1.0 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+19.05% - The Office (vs. 10/25/12)
+16.67% - Beauty and the Beast
+11.11% - Two and a Half Men
+10.34% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. 10/25/12)
+7.69% - Last Resort (vs. 10/25/12)
+4.55% - The X Factor
0.00% - Scandal (vs. 10/25/12)
-1.96% - The Big Bang Theory
-3.33% - Person of Interest
-5.26% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 10/25/12)
-6.67% - The Vampire Diaries
-7.69% - Glee (vs. 10/4/12)
-8.33% - Elementary
-15.38% - Rock Center With Brian Williams

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+81.82% - The Voice (vs. Community/Parks & Recreation)
+45.00% - Person of Interest (vs. Person of Interest (Repeat))
+27.27% - Last Resort (vs. Charlie's Angels)
+15.79% - Elementary (vs. The Mentalist (Repeat))
+11.11% - Two and a Half Men (vs. Rules of Engagement)
0.00% - The Vampire Diaries
-3.85% - The Big Bang Theory
-8.33% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Prime Suspect)
-11.11% - Glee (vs. Bones)
-12.50% - Beauty and the Beast (vs. The Secret Circle)
-14.29% - Parks & Recreation (vs. Whitney)
-16.67% - The Office
-20.00% - Grey's Anatomy
-30.30% - The X Factor
-31.03% - Scandal (vs. Private Practice)

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," 3.1/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; 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," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

* 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" (0.5/4 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 0.3/3 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 (11/10/11):

FOX (9.51 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) edged out the competition on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "The X Factor" (10.20 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4) and "Bones" (8.83 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

CBS (10.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then claimed the silver with fresh installments of "The Big Bang Theory" (15.66 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) and "Rules of Engagement" (11.78 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #3) followed by repeats of "Person of Interest" (9.10 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) and "The Mentalist" (10.01 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10).

Next up was ABC (7.99 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with the departing "Charlie's Angels" (5.13 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #15) alongside new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (11.17 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.67 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.48 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) still struggled with its lineup of "Community" (3.47 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #12), "Parks & Recreation" (3.59 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11), "The Office" (5.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5), "Whitney" (4.30 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.1, #8) and "Prime Suspect" (4.81 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14).

And finally, the fall finales of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.33 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.4, #13) and "The Secret Circle" (2.16 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16) on The CW (2.74 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 2.1 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - Grey's Anatomy
+11.54% - Private Practice
+1.96% - The Big Bang Theory
0.00% - Whitney
0.00% - Prime Suspect
-2.70% - Rules of Engagement
-3.23% - The Office
-6.67% - The Vampire Diaries
-8.33% - Charlie's Angels
-8.33% - The X Factor
-10.00% - Parks & Recreation
-11.11% - The Secret Circle
-11.76% - Community
-18.18% - Bones

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+42.11% - Bones (vs. Fringe)
+32.00% - The X Factor (vs. Bones)
+28.57% - Rules of Engagement (vs. Bleep My Dad Says)
+23.81% - The Big Bang Theory
+10.00% - Charlie's Angels (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
0.00% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Private Practice
-11.11% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita)
-12.50% - The Vampire Diaries
-21.05% - The Office
-25.00% - Whitney (vs. Outsourced)
-25.00% - Prime Suspect (vs. The Apprentice)
-28.57% - Community
-30.77% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)

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," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

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," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). 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 0.9/4 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