NBC's NINJA WARRIOR is No. 1 Among Big 4

"American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World" (1.8/5 in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall from 8-11 p.m. ET) won the night among the Big 4 in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49 (and tied for #1 in men 25-54).

"American Ninja Warrior" (1.8/5 in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall from 8-11 p.m. ET) matched last week's 9-11 p.m. rating in adults 18-49 and is up week to week by +11% comparing its 9-11 p.m. rating this week to last (2.0 from 9-11 last night vs. 1.8).

"American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World" grew by +40% in 18-49from its first hour to its third (to a 2.1 from a 1.5) and won its final hour from 10-11 p.m. ET among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49, ,adults 18-34 and adults 25-54.

In Late-Night Metered Markets Monday Night:

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 3.0/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.6/4 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

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 Seth Meyers" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

For the 2013-14 Primetime Season (which concludes at the end of this week):

NBC has clinched first place for the full 52-week primetime ratings season in the key demographic of adults 18-49, marking the network's first full-season win in the 10 years since the 2003-04 season.

In "most current" averages from Nielsen Media Research through Sept. 14, with one week left to count in the 52-week season, NBC is running +14% ahead of its year-ago rating in adults 18-49 (to a 2.4 from a 2.1) and is currently the only Big 4 network generating a year-to-year improvement in the key demo.

In total viewers, NBC is currently up +25%, which tops every increase by a Big 4 network in a full 52-week season for the last 25 years.

Even taking NBC's 18 nights of Winter Olympic coverage out of the network's averages, NBC still ranks #1 for the season in adults 18-49, ahead of Super Bowl-boosted FOX (with a 2.2 rating for NBC excluding Olympic nights vs. a 2.1 for #2 Fox).

NBC has finished #1 or tied for #1 among the Big 4 networks during 30 weeks so far this season (L+SD), the most for any network over the past four seasons and NBC's highest total in 11 years. CBS is #2 this season with 13 weekly wins (including ties). Note that the last time NBC aired an Olympics (London during the 2011-12 season), NBC won 11 weeks, three of which were Olympic weeks.

NBC also leads the season in adults 25-54, adults 18-34, men 18-49, men 25-54 and all key adult-female demos.

In total viewers, NBC ranks #2 for the season (with or without Olympic nights being counted in its average) for only the second time in 10 years, and is up +25% this season versus last (8.3 million vs. 6.6 million). That 25% gain currently stands as the biggest year-to-year increase for a full 52-week season since FOX grew by +47% in 1988-89.

In 18-49 rating among Big 4 primetime programs, NBC's schedule includes:
The #1 series, "Sunday Night Football" (with an 8.0 rating, L+7).
The #1 reality series, "The Voice" (4.6).
The #1 new series, "The Blacklist" (4.4).
Counting originals only, the #1 drama, "The Blacklist" (4.9, originals only).
The #1 summer series, "America's Got Talent" (tied with a 2.7 rating in 18-49, #1 outright in total viewers, most current).

NBC's lineup features the three highest-rated regular-schedule averages on the Big 4:
NBC's Sunday (3.6 rating in 18-49, "most current," regularly scheduled programming).
NBC's Monday (3.5).
NBC's Tuesday (2.9).

Looking at NBC's averages for regular programming this season vs. last in adults 18-49, NBC's regular schedule is up on six of seven nights:
Mondays are up +3%
Tuesdays are up +4%
Wednesdays are up +5%
Thursdays are down 6%
Fridays are up +23%
Saturdays are up +33%
Sundays are up +13%.

It was also an exceptional season for NBC specials:
"The Sound of Music Live!" was the season's #1 movie event, delivering NBC's biggest Thursday in total viewers since 2004 (18.7 million, L+SD; 21.8 million, L+7).
"The 71st Golden Globes" hit a 10-year high in total viewers (20.9 million, L+SD).
"The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards" generated the event's second biggest audience in eight years (15.6 million).
"Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" delivered its biggest audience in People Meter history (25.2 million), as did "The NATIONAL DOG SHOW Presented by Purina" (10.7 million).
"Christmas in Rockefeller Center" hit a seven-year high in adults 18-49 (2.3).
"NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" delivered the biggest audience in its nine-year history (9.5 million).

SEASON AVERAGES
Adults 18-49, "Most Current" thru Sept. 14
Net... STD '12-13... STD '13-14...Diff
NBC...2.1...2.4...Up 14%
CBS...2.4...2.0...Down 17%
ABC...2.0...1.9...Down 5%
Fox...2.1...2.1...Even

Total Viewers, "Most Current" thru Sept. 14
Net... STD '12-13... STD '13-14...Diff
NBC...6.642 million ...8.272 million...Up 25%
CBS...9.966 million...9.272 million... Down 7%
ABC...6.986 million ...6.819 million...Down 2%
Fox...5.990 million ...6.165 million...Up 3%

NBC has also won its fourth summer in a row in adults 18-49, and was the only Big 4 network to match its year-ago rating in adults 18-49. NBC has finished #1 or tied for #1 among the Big 4 during 12 weeks this summer while no other network has won more than four weeks. NBC is also #1 for the summer among ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX in adults 25-54, adults 18-34, women 18-49, women 25-54 and all key adult-male demos.

NBC's summer programming highlights include:
"America's Got Talent," the most-watched summer series for a ninth year in a row.
"American Ninja Warrior," which has grown +11% year to year in 18-49 (to a 2.0 from a 1.8) and is tied for the # 11 ranking of the summer (excludes fall football coverage).
"Last Comic Standing," which ranks tied for #16 this summer in 18-49.
"The Night Shift," the #1 new series on the Big 4 this summer in 18-49 and the #6 series overall in total viewers.

SUMMER AVERAGES
Adults 18-49, "Most Current" thru Sept. 14
Net... Summer '13... Summer '14...Diff
NBC...1.6...1.6...Even
CBS...1.3...1.2...Down 8%
ABC...1.4...1.3...Down 7%
Fox...1.4...1.2...Down 14%

Total Viewers, "Most Current" thru Sept. 14
Net... Summer '13... Summer '14...Diff
NBC...5.771 million ...6.017 million...Up 4%
CBS...5.960 million...6.098 million... Up 2%
ABC...4.920 million ...4.918 million...Down 0.0%
Fox...3.716 million ...3.522 million...Down 5%

In late-night, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers" have established themselves as the dominant choices in those time periods. Since the debuts of Fallon and Meyers in February:
"Tonight" is outrating the ABC and CBS time-period competition combined in adults 18-49 (with a 1.19 rating vs. a combined 1.10, L+SD through Aug. 7).
"Tonight" is up by +47% versus year-ago results (1.19 vs. 0.81).
Meyers is outrating CBS's Letterman (0.56 vs. 0.48), despite starting an hour later.
Meyers is delivering bigger audiences than the ABC and CBS time-period competition in every key ratings measure - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers.

For the Week:

NBC has finished #2 for the ratings week of Sept. 8-14, led by Sunday's Bears-49ers "Sunday Night Football" telecast, which ranked #1 among Big 4 primetime programs in every key ratings measure - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers.

For the week, NBC also tied for #1 among ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX in adults 18-34 and was #1 outright in women 18-34.

According to "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research, NBC finished the week with an average 2.3 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.8 million viewers overall.

NBC finished the week within a tenth of a rating point of #1 CBS, whose schedule included Thursday NFL football (which benefited from an additional 1.6 rating points in adults 18-49 and 3.4 million viewers overall from the game's NFL Network simulcast), a high-rated Saturday college-football overrun and a high-rated Sunday NFL overrun.

Joining "Sunday Football" in the week's top 30 were three telecasts of "America's Got Talent" (tied for #11 with Tuesday's edition, tied for #13 with Wednesday's original and tied for #26 with Wednesday's encore), "American Ninja Warrior" (tied for #13), "The Biggest Loser" season premiere (tied for #17) and Friday's "Dateline NBC" (tied for #26). Rankings exclude sports pre- and post-game shows.

Versus the same week a year ago, NBC was up +5% in adults 18-49 (to a 2.3 rating from a 2.2) and up +11% in total viewers (7.8 million vs. 7.0 million).

NOTE: All ratings are "live plus same day" from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise indicated. Season figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

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