nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, april 11, 2013)

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

FOX (9.772 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) was the top draw on Thursday thanks to a new "American Idol" (12.745 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.1, #1) and the return of "Glee" (6.799 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) after a three week break.

CBS (8.986 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) then claimed the silver despite an all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.146 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (8.207 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4), "Person of Interest" (9.978 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) and "Elementary" (7.305 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T9).

Next up was NBC (3.531 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) and its all-original lineup of "Community" (2.963 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12), "Parks & Recreation" (3.107 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #8), "The Office" (3.772 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5), the season finale of "Go On" (2.663 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and week two of "Hannibal" (4.340 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.192 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up a new "Wife Swap" (4.588 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T9) followed by repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" (4.407 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #11) and "Scandal" (3.580 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14).

And finally, rebroadcasts of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.987 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) and "Beauty and the Beast" (0.898 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) on The CW (0.942 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Beast" a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
20.00% - Glee (vs. 3/21/13)
20.00% - Community
16.67% - Wife Swap
11.76% - The Office
10.71% - American Idol
0.00% - Hannibal
0.00% - Parks & Recreation
0.00% - Go On

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+77.78% - Hannibal (vs. Awake)
+7.14% - Parks & Recreation (vs. 30 Rock)
+4.35% - Glee (vs. Touch)
0.00% - Wife Swap (vs. Missing)
-9.52% - The Office
-14.29% - Community
-26.19% - American Idol
-26.67% - Go On (vs. Up All Night)

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," 1.7/5 with an encore delayed by golf; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.1/6.

* In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 Wednesday results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.3/2 with an encore delayed by golf; 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 0.4/2 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" (0.9/4 delayed by golf). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2 delayed by golf).

* At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/12/12):

FOX (11.78 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with fresh installments of "American Idol" (15.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.2, #1) and "Touch" (8.22 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #6).

CBS (8.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then snagged the silver with its special mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.58 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4), a new "Rules of Engagement" (8.46 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #5) - flat with last week's season low, another "The Big Bang Theory" (10.25 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2), "2 Broke Girls" (7.37 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7) and "Person of Interest" (8.66 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #10).

Next up was ABC (8.06 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) with week two of its lineup of "Missing" (7.87 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12), "Grey's Anatomy" (8.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) and "Scandal" (7.45 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) offered up originals of "Community" (3.18 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12), "30 Rock" (3.04 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12) and "The Office" (4.35 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T7) - its series low - followed by the season finale of "Up All Night" (3.18 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11) and a new "Awake" (2.65 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15) - matching its series low.

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.08 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "The Secret Circle" (0.85 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.3, #17) on The CW (0.96 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 0.5 rating while "Circle" delivered a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+36.36% - Up All Night
+16.67% - 30 Rock
+10.53% - American Idol
+7.69% - Community
+3.57% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Missing
0.00% - Rules of Engagement
0.00% - Touch
0.00% - Awake
0.00% - Scandal
-8.70% - The Office (vs. 3/15/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+162.50% - Scandal (vs. Private Practice (Repeat))
+123.08% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. Grey's Anatomy (Repeat))
+107.69% - Rules of Engagement
+27.27% - 30 Rock (vs. The Paul Reiser Show)
0.00% - Community
-26.32% - Missing (vs. Spring Wipeout)
-31.15% - American Idol
-37.84% - Touch (vs. Bones)
-42.31% - Up All Night (vs. Parks & Recreation)
-46.15% - The Office
-53.85% - Awake (vs. 30 Rock/Outsourced)

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," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.8/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.8/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/4; "Late Show," 0.6/3; "Nightline," 1.3/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market household) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-4) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research