NFL Pre-Season Football was the highest rated program among adults 18-49, but America's Got Talent won the week with total viewers.
Primetime Broadcast Adults 18-49 Viewers for the week ending August 26, 2012:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | 18-49 rating | 18-49 Viewers (000) |
| 1 | NBC NFL PRE-SEASON GM8/26(S) | S | NBC | 3.3 | 4184 |
| 2 | Big Brother 14-SUN | CBS | 2.6 | 3376 | |
| 3 | HELL'S KITCHEN-MON | FOX | 2.6 | 3315 | |
| 4 | AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE | NBC | 2.5 | 3241 | |
| 5 | MASTERCHEF-TUE | FOX | 2.4 | 3099 | |
| 6 | AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-WED | NBC | 2.3 | 2901 | |
| 7 | Big Brother 14-THU | CBS | 2.3 | 2897 | |
| 8 | Big Brother 14-WED | CBS | 2.1 | 2652 | |
| 9 | Big Bang Theory, THE | R | CBS | 2.0 | 2616 |
| 10 | Hotel Hell | FOX | 2.0 | 2522 | |
| 11 | Family Guy | R | FOX | 2.0 | 2511 |
| 12 | Family Guy-SUN 9:30P | R | FOX | 1.9 | 2382 |
| 13 | Simpsons-SUN 8:30P | R | FOX | 1.8 | 2314 |
| 14 | Simpsons | R | FOX | 1.7 | 2158 |
| 15 | Two and a Half Men - THU | R | CBS | 1.7 | 2152 |
| 16 | Grimm | NBC | 1.7 | 2126 | |
| 17 | 2 Broke Girls 9PM | R | CBS | 1.7 | 2115 |
| 18 | ABISMO DE PASION THU | UNI | 1.7 | 2114 | |
| 19 | NFL PRE-SEASON FTBLL(S) | S | CBS | 1.6 | 2092 |
| 20 | ABISMO DE PASION TUE | UNI | 1.6 | 2084 | |
| 21 | ABISMO DE PASION WED | UNI | 1.6 | 2034 | |
| 22 | NFL PRE-SEASON(S) | S | CBS | 1.5 | 1971 |
| 23 | POR ELLA SOY EVA THU | UNI | 1.5 | 1932 | |
| 24 | MIKE & Molly | R | CBS | 1.5 | 1898 |
| 25 | NASCAR SERIES AT BRISTOL(S) | S | ABC | 1.5 | 1898 |
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Primetime Broadcast Total Viewership for the week:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | # Viewers (Live+SD) (000) | HH Rating (Live+SD) | HH Share (Live+SD) |
| 1 | AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE | NBC | 9903 | 6.0 | 10 | |
| 2 | NBC NFL PRE-SEASON GM8/26(S) | S | NBC | 9819 | 6.2 | 10 |
| 3 | AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-WED | NBC | 8602 | 5.2 | 8 | |
| 4 | 60 Minutes | R | CBS | 8583 | 5.7 | 10 |
| 5 | NCIS | R | CBS | 8094 | 5.4 | 9 |
| 6 | Big Bang Theory, THE | R | CBS | 7444 | 4.8 | 9 |
| 7 | Big Brother 14-SUN | CBS | 7367 | 4.5 | 7 | |
| 8 | NCIS: LOS ANGELES | R | CBS | 7145 | 4.8 | 8 |
| 9 | Mentalist, THE - TUE | R | CBS | 6292 | 4.2 | 7 |
| 10 | Big Brother 14-THU | CBS | 6278 | 3.9 | 6 | |
| 11 | HELL'S KITCHEN-MON | FOX | 6234 | 3.5 | 6 | |
| 12 | MASTERCHEF-TUE | FOX | 5990 | 3.5 | 6 | |
| 13 | Two and a Half Men - THU | R | CBS | 5950 | 3.9 | 7 |
| 14 | 20/20-FRI | R | ABC | 5934 | 3.9 | 7 |
| 15 | NASCAR SERIES AT BRISTOL(S) | S | ABC | 5905 | 3.7 | 7 |
| 16 | BIG BROTHER 14-WED | CBS | 5860 | 3.7 | 6 | |
| 17 | Criminal Minds | R | CBS | 5769 | 3.8 | 6 |
| 18 | CSI | R | CBS | 5610 | 3.8 | 7 |
| 19 | Mentalist, THE - SUN | R | CBS | 5574 | 3.7 | 6 |
| 20 | 2 Broke Girls 9PM | R | CBS | 5471 | 3.5 | 5 |
| 21 | MIKE & Molly | R | CBS | 5331 | 3.4 | 5 |
| 22 | AMER FUNN HOME VIDEOS | R | ABC | 5318 | 3.1 | 6 |
| 23 | Person Of Interest | R | CBS | 5268 | 3.5 | 6 |
| 24 | AMERICA GOT TALENT-WED 8P | R | NBC | 5240 | 3.3 | 6 |
| 25 | Rock Center-B. WILLIAMS | NBC | 5179 | 3.6 | 6 |
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Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2012 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. All numbers are live viewing plus same day DVR viewing.
“The Mentalist” is doing so well in the week, so why move it to Sundays?
It looks as if FOX is now the new cooking channel, all its higher rated shows are about cooking.
@Jiji Morgan……I totally agree, CBS is making a big mistake by moving ‘The Mentalist’ to Sunday nights. It would have been the perfect spot to leave it to Tuesday nights at 10 PM.