BACHELORETTE; CONGRATS ARE IN ORDER

ABC said Tuesday that Monday’s season finale of The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose brought it its largest Monday summer audience in over 10 years. Its 11.5 million viewers beat CBS and NBC programming combined by 7 percent in total viewers and by 41 percent in adults 18-49 during the 10:00 p.m. hour. (The only other major broadcast network, Fox, does not air after 10:00 p.m.) The reality series also headed the Nielsen list in the 18-49 demo for last week and came in second (to a rerun of CBS’s NCIS) among total viewers. ABC also got solid numbers last week from its rookie Canadian drama Rookie Blue, which tied for 11th place. Among the nightly newscasts, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams remained the leader with an average of 7.4 million viewers. ABC World News with Diane Sawyer placed second with 6.7 million, while the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric trailed with 5 million viewers. For the week, CBS remained well ahead in total viewers with a 3.9 rating and a 7 share. ABC followed with a 3.1/6. NBC was close behind in third place with a 2.9/5, followed by Fox with a 2.7/5.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. NCIS, CBS, 6.5/12; 2. The Bachelorette, ABC, 5.7/10; 2. (Tie) America’s Got Talent (Wednesday), NBC, 5.7/10; 4. America’s Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 5.6/10; 5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 5.3/9; 6. 60 Minutes, CBS, 5.2/10; 6. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 5.2/9; 8. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 4.9/8; 9. The Mentalist, CBS, 4.8/9; 10. Big Brother (Sunday), CBS, 4.2/8.