NBC might have been on to something in scheduling Jay Leno at 9 p.m. last year. But the network is finding out the hard way.

The Nielsen Co. said NBC averaged 6 percent fewer viewers during the 9 p.m. hour each weekday last week than it did during the comparable week with Leno last season. Leno's prime-time show was canceled in midseason, widely regarded as one of TV's epic failures.

NBC's "Chase," "Parenthood" and "The Apprentice" all had fewer than 5 million viewers in that time slot last week.

If it's any consolation, NBC isn't alone in the trend. ABC and CBS were down 8 percent at that hour last week compared with the previous year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1 Dancing With the Stars, Mon. (ABC)

2 NCIS (CBS)

3 NFL: Indianapolis vs. Washington (NBC)

4 Dancing With the Stars, Tue. (ABC)

5 NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

6 The Mentalist (CBS)

7 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)

8 Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick (NBC)

9 Criminal Minds (CBS)

10 Two and a Half Men (CBS)

11 60 Minutes (CBS)

12 Desperate Housewives (ABC)

13 The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

14 Undercover Boss (CBS)

15 Survivor: Nicaragua (CBS)

16 Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

17 The Good Wife (CBS)

18 Modern Family (ABC)

19 Glee (Fox)

20 The OT (Fox)