Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (7/16/14):

CBS (6.539 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday thanks to a new "Big Brother 16" (6.261 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1), week two of "Extant" (7.866 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) and a repeat of "Criminal Minds" (5.491 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4).

NBC (5.547 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then took home the silver with an encore of "America's Got Talent" (5.918 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) and a new "Taxi Brooklyn" (4.805 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8).

Next up was FOX (3.632 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) and its summer mainstay "So You Think You Can Dance" (3.632 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T6).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.532 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) served up repeats of "The Middle" (3.862 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8), "The Goldbergs" (3.590 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8), "Modern Family" (3.695 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T4), another "The Middle" (3.193 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T6) and a new "Motive" (3.426 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11).

And finally, repeats of "Arrow" (0.971 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and "The 100" (0.476 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.724 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), the former delivered a 0.2 rating while the latter posted a 0.1 rating.

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

TBA

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/17/13):

NBC (7.731 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) was the top draw on Wednesday thanks to a rebroadcast of "America's Got Talent" (7.681 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4) followed by new episodes of "America's Got Talent" (11.002 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) and "Camp" (4.511 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

FOX (4.391 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then snagged the silver with a rebroadcast of "MasterChef" (3.233 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) alongside a new "MasterChef" (5.549 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2).

Next up was CBS (5.744 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with a new "Big Brother 15" (6.306 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) alongside repeats of "Criminal Minds" (4.862 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (6.066 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #6).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.677 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up second runs of "The Middle" (3.160 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11), "Suburgatory" (2.302 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #13), "Modern Family" (2.622 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9) and "The Neighbors" (2.064 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) plus a new "The Lookout" (2.958 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T9).

And finally, repeats of "Arrow" (0.989 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #15) and "Supernatural" (0.827 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #14) on The CW (0.908 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Arrow" delivered a 0.1 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.2 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - The Lookout
+5.00% - Big Brother 15
+3.70% - America's Got Talent
-4.55% - MasterChef
-6.67% - Camp

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+47.37% - America's Got Talent
+27.27% - Camp (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
+16.67% - MasterChef (vs. So You Think You Can Dance)
+10.53% - Big Brother 15
-33.33% - The Lookout (vs. Final Witness)

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," 2.4/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/4 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," 0.5/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.0/3 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" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) 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 18-49) 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 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research