nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, august 29, 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 (7.219 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) was the top draw on Thursday with its mix of "Two and a Half Men" (7.220 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3), a second "Two and a Half Men" (7.555 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2), "Big Brother 15" (8.359 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.6, #1) and "Elementary" (5.909 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8).

The silver then went to NBC (4.880 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) with its combination of "America's Got Talent" (5.158 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and "Hollywood Game Night" (4.660 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T4) encores followed by the season finale of "Hollywood Game Night" (4.821 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T4).

Next up was ABC (6.264 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) with a new "Motive" (6.349 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T12) alongside the season finale of "Motive" (6.418 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and a new "Rookie Blue" (6.026 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T4).

Meanwhile, FOX (4.504 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) served up repeats of "Glee" (4.625 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T4), "New Girl" (4.575 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and "The Mindy Project" (4.193 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.097 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) and "America's Next Top Model" (1.083 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) on The CW (1.090 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.3 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Top Model" a 0.3 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+36.36% - Rookie Blue
+27.27% - Motive
+15.38% - Hollywood Game Night
+13.04% - Big Brother 15

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+87.50% - Hollywood Game Night (vs. NBC News Special)
+50.00% - Rookie Blue (vs. ABC News Special)
+13.04% - Big Brother 15
-6.67% - Motive - 9:00 (vs. Rookie Blue)
-18.75% - Motive - 8:00 (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," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.8/5 with an encore.

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

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.3/4 in metered-market households and a 0.5/3 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 with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4 with an encore). 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 with an encore).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 in metered-market households with an encore 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 (8/30/12):

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

CBS (5.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (6.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3), "Big Brother 14" (6.51 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) and its "CBS News Special" (3.47 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

ABC (5.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then claimed the silver with originals from "Wipeout" (5.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) and "Rookie Blue" (5.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) plus its "ABC News Special" (4.17 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

Next up was FOX (3.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with rebroadcasts from "Raising Hope" (3.34 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7), "New Girl" (3.40 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #6) and "Glee" (3.65 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up repeats of "The Office" (3.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and "Parks & Recreation" (3.06 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) followed by the Saturday-bound "Saving Hope" (4.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and its "NBC News Special" (3.31 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14).

And finally, a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.31 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) lead into week three of "The Next" (1.27 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) - a series high - on The CW (1.29 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "The Vampire Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating while "The Next" posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - The Next
+37.50% - Saving Hope
+25.00% - Rookie Blue
+4.55% - Big Brother 14
-5.88% - Wipeout

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - The Next (vs. Plain Jane (Repeat))
+7.14% - Rookie Blue (vs. Rookie Blue (Repeat))
-11.11% - Wipeout (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
-32.35% - Big Brother 14
-37.14% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))

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," 1.9/5; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.4/4; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.0/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.1/4 with an encore.

·In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.6/3; "Late Show," 0.3/2; "Nightline," 0.7/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3 with an encore.

·At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.8/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1).

·At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research