nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, march 4, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (8.445 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1) pulled in front on Monday thanks to new episodes of "Bones" (8.205 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T3) and "The Following" (8.685 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1).

ABC (7.871 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then had to settle for second place with a new "The Bachelor" (8.427 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) and a repeat of "Castle" (6.761 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T5).

Next up was NBC (5.044 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) with originals from "The Biggest Loser" (5.934 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T5) and "Deception" (3.266 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11).

Meanwhile, CBS (6.088 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) offered up its lineup of a "How I Met Your Mother" (5.438 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) repeat, a new "Rules of Engagement" (6.860 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T3) and repeats of "2 Broke Girls" (6.355 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7), "Mike & Molly" (6.662 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7) and "Hawaii Five-0" (5.606 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #10).

And finally, new episodes of "The Carrie Diaries" (1.245 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "90210" (0.653 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) rounded out the night on The CW (0.949 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Carrie" delivered a 0.7 rating while "90210" posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+3.70% - The Following
0.00% - The Biggest Loser
0.00% - The Carrie Diaries
0.00% - 90210
-4.35% - Bones
-6.90% - The Bachelor
-8.33% - Deception
-15.38% - Rules of Engagement

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+55.56% - The Following (vs. Alcatraz)
+15.79% - Bones (vs. Alcatraz)
+8.00% - The Bachelor
+4.76% - Rules of Engagement (vs. 2 Broke Girls (Repeat))
0.00% - The Carrie Diaries (vs. America's Next Top Model (Repeat))
-25.00% - 90210 (vs. Hart of Dixie (Repeat))
-59.26% - Deception (vs. Smash)
-65.57% - The Biggest Loser (vs. The Voice)

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," 2.3/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.2/6.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 Wednesday results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/3 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.8/4.

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.3/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

* From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/5/12):

NBC (13.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1) was the network to beat on Monday with new episodes of "The Voice" (16.66 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.1, #1) and "Smash" (7.87 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2).

ABC (7.64 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then took home a distant silver with a new "The Bachelor" (8.13 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #3) and a repeat of "Castle" (6.66 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #11).

Next up was CBS (6.87 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T3) and its all-repeat lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" (6.17 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #6), "2 Broke Girls" (7.01 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T4), "Two and a Half Men" (7.96 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T4), "Mike & Molly" (6.98 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T8) and "Hawaii Five-0" (6.55 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10).

Meanwhile, FOX (5.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T3) served up a special 8:00/7:00c episode of "Alcatraz" (5.86 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #7) followed by a new "Alcatraz" (5.46 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T8) in its regular time period.

And finally, repeats of "America's Next Top Model" (1.35 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #12) and "Hart of Dixie" (1.07 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #13) on The CW (1.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Top Model" delivered a 0.6 rating while "Dixie" posted a 0.5 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.96% - The Voice
+12.50% - Smash
0.00% - Alcatraz - 9:00
-2.91% - The Bachelor

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+335.71% - The Voice (vs. The Event)
+50.00% - Smash (vs. Harry's Law)
-14.29% - Alcatraz - 9:00 (vs. The Chicago Code)
-19.35% - The Bachelor (vs. The Bachelor)
-50.00% - Alcatraz - 8:00 (vs. House)

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 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/6 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/8; 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," 0.9/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

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