nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, march 27, 2013)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (12.029 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) was still the network to beat on Wednesday with a new two-hour "American Idol" (12.029 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2).

ABC (6.164 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) then claimed the silver with a new "The Middle" (6.810 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5), the season finale of "The Neighbors" (5.513 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8) and originals from "Modern Family" (8.966 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1), "Suburgatory" (5.412 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) and "Nashville" (5.141 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T8).

Next up was CBS (7.269 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) with a new "Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites" (9.157 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) followed by repeats from "Criminal Minds" (5.730 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.919 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.510 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up a new "Whitney" (3.108 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13), the season finale of "Whitney" (3.090 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #12) and fresh installments of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (6.530 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7) and "Chicago Fire" (6.901 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5).

And finally, originals from "Arrow" (2.609 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) and "Supernatural" (2.245 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13) on The CW (2.426 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Arrow" delivered a 0.7 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.7 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+26.67% - Suburgatory
+13.33% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
+11.11% - Supernatural
+7.14% - The Neighbors
+5.88% - Chicago Fire
-4.00% - Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites
-6.25% - Nashville (vs. 2/27/13)
-9.09% - Whitney
-11.11% - Arrow
-11.43% - American Idol
-14.29% - The Middle (vs. 2/27/13)
-17.95% - Modern Family (vs. 2/27/13)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+125.00% - Chicago Fire (vs. Rock Center With Brian Williams)
+100.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Bent/Bent)
+68.42% - Modern Family (vs. Modern Family (Repeat))
+66.67% - Nashville (Vs. Missing (Repeat))
+50.00% - The Middle (vs. The Middle (Repeat))
+42.86% - Supernatural (vs. America's Next Top Model)
+33.33% - Arrow (vs. One Tree Hill)
+25.00% - The Neighbors (vs. Suburgatory (Repeat))
0.00% - Suburgatory (vs. Happy Endings)
-8.33% - Whitney - 8:30 (vs. Are You There, Chelsea?)
-14.29% - Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites (vs. Survivor: One World)
-33.33% - Whitney - 8:00
-38.00% - American Idol

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," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/5.

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

* From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

* From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "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 (3/28/12):

FOX (17.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday with another two-hour "American Idol" (17.15 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1).

CBS (8.29 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then claimed a distant second place with a new "Survivor: One World" (9.60 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) followed by repeats of "Criminal Minds" (7.45 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.82 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T5).

Next up was ABC (4.28 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with repeats of "The Middle" (4.27 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Suburgatory" (3.84 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8) and "Modern Family" (5.27 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3) plus a new "Happy Endings" (4.17 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3) and an encore of "Missing" (4.06 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.14 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up the season finales of "Whitney" (4.16 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7) and "Are You There, Chelsea?" (3.14 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8) alongside week two of "Bent" (2.63 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11) and a second "Bent" (2.36 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13) plus a new "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (3.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T13).

And finally, new episodes of "One Tree Hill" (1.28 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16) and "America's Next Top Model" (1.40 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) on The CW (1.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Hill" delivered a 1.2 rating while "Top Model" posted a 0.8 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - America's Next Top Model
+14.29% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+5.56% - Happy Endings
+3.70% - Survivor: One World
+2.04% - American Idol
-6.25% - Whitney
-10.00% - Bent - 9:00
-11.11% - Bent - 9:30
-14.29% - Are You There, Chelsea?
-14.29% - One Tree Hill

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Shedding for the Wedding)
+36.36% - Whitney (vs. Minute to Win It)
+35.71% - Happy Endings (vs. Mr. Sunshine)
+9.09% - Are You There, Chelsea? (vs. Minute to Win It)
-3.45% - Survivor: One World
-10.00% - Bent - 9:00 (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-20.00% - Bent - 9:30 (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-33.33% - American Idol
-33.33% - One Tree Hill (vs. America's Next Top Model)
-66.67% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (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," 2.4/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.9/7; 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," 0.6/3; "Late Show," 0.5/3; "Nightline," 0.8/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market household) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-4) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research