nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, january 27, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (17.21 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.8, #1) was Thursday's top draw thanks to new episodes of "American Idol" (22.27 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.6, #1) and "Bones" (12.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.9, #3). Said installment marked "Bones's" highest rated 18-49 telecast in almost four years (since 2/14/07) and in almost one year in total viewers (since 2/4/10).

NBC (5.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) then claimed the silver week two of its lineup of "Community" (4.64 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.2, #9), "Perfect Couples" (3.53 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.7, #13), "The Office" (7.93 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 4.0, #2), "Parks & Recreation" (5.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4), "30 Rock" (4.92 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5) and "Outsourced" (4.15 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T11).

Next up was CBS (9.61 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #3) and its mostly repeat mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (9.19 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5), "Bleep My Dad Says" (8.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (9.67 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #10) and "The Mentalist" (10.12 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T11). "Bleep," the only original of the bunch, hit a series low in the key demo.

Meanwhile, ABC (5.18 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) offered up a new "Wipeout" (7.61 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5) followed by repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" (4.50 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #15) and "Private Practice" (3.44 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.0, #17).

And finally, the return of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.46 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.6, #14) and "Nikita" (2.65 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 1.1, #16) on The CW (3.06 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Nikita (37.50% vs. 12/9/10), The Vampire Diaries (23.10% vs. 12/9/10), Bones (8.30%), Outsourced (5.60%), Community (0.00%), American Idol (-2.60%), Parks & Recreation (-6.30%), Wipeout (-7.70%), The Office (-11.10%), 30 Rock (-11.10%), Bleep My Dad Says (-14.80%), Perfect Couples (-19.00%).

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," 2.7/7 with an encore; 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," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households with an encore) trailed CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49 with an encore) trailed "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-/3market 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 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/28/10):

FOX (10.64 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "Bones" (12.37 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1) and "Fringe" (8.90 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2).

The silver then went to CBS (8.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) with its special "Live for the Moment" (4.67 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #15) followed by repeats of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (9.13 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #5) and "The Mentalist" (11.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3).

Next up was ABC (5.20 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T3) with week two of "The Deep End" (6.04 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7) and repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" (5.25 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11) and "Private Practice" (4.33 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.18 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T3) offered up its mix of "Community" (4.21 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T9), "Parks & Recreation" (3.72 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T9), "The Office" (4.56 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4), "30 Rock" (3.88 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T7) and "The Jay Leno Show" (4.35 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.72 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) and "Supernatural" (2.65 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T12) on The CW (3.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T3) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research