nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, august 22, 2013)

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

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to significant local NFL pre-season preemptions, Fast Nationals for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC are inflated.]

CBS (6.174 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) continued its reign on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.950 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (7.410 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3), "Big Brother 15" (6.834 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) and "Elementary" (4.009 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #10).

ABC (4.918 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) then was a distant second with its original lineup of "Wipeout" (4.465 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T4), "Motive" (5.027 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6) and "Rookie Blue" (5.262 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6).

Next up was NBC (3.671 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with encores of "America's Got Talent" (3.610 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #9) and "Hollywood Game Night" (3.451 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #8) and followed by a new "Hollywood Game Night" (0.951 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T4).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.796 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up repeats of "Glee" (1.928 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T11), "New Girl" (1.676 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T11) and "The Mindy Project" (1.650 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.927 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) and "America's Next Top Model" (0.820 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T14) on The CW (0.873 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.2 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Top Model" a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Big Brother 15
0.00% - Hollywood Game Night
-15.38% - Motive
-18.75% - Wipeout
-21.43% - Rookie Blue

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+8.33% - Hollywood Game Night (vs. Rock Center With Brian Williams)
+4.55% - Big Brother 15
-8.33% - Rookie Blue
-13.33% - Wipeout
-35.29% - Motive (vs. Wipeout)

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," 2.1/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.1/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/5 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.5/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.1/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 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 "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/2 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 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 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 (8/23/12):

CBS (6.21 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was the top draw on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (6.24 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3), "Big Brother 14" (6.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) and "Person of Interest" (5.36 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #8).

ABC (5.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then claimed the silver with a new "Wipeout" (5.43 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5), a second new "Wipeout" (5.39 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T3) and "Rookie Blue" (4.69 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

Next up was NBC (4.07 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with repeats of "The Office" (3.28 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #9) and "Parks & Recreation" (2.82 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.9, #10) followed by originals from "Saving Hope" (3.74 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (5.42 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T6).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.11 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up its repeat lineup of "Raising Hope" (2.24 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11), "New Girl" (2.04 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) and "Glee" (2.08 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #14).

And finally, new episodes of "Oh Sit!" (0.91 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "The Next" (0.84 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (0.87 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Oh Sit!" delivered a 0.4 rating while "The Next" posted a 0.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Oh Sit!
+6.25% - Wipeout - 9:00
0.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
0.00% - The Next
-4.35% - Big Brother 14
-7.69% - Rookie Blue
-11.11% - Saving Hope

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
+13.33% - Wipeout - 9:00 (vs. Expedition Impossible)
0.00% - The Next (vs. Plain Jane (Repeat))
-7.69% - Rookie Blue
-20.00% - Oh Sit! (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
-21.05% - Wipeout - 8:00
-23.81% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))
-31.25% - Big Brother 14

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," 2.0/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with an encore).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research