NBC gave FOX some rare competition on Wednesday night, winning the night and knocking down So You Think You Can Dance, which usually enjoys a competition-free existence.
NBC continued live coverage of the U.S. Olympic Trials (swimming from Omaha) from 8-9 pm, earning a preliminary 1.9 Adult 18-49 rating. The number could very likely be adjusted up to a 2.0 to match the Monday and Tuesday 8 pm telecasts of the Trials. A special Wednesday night edition of America’s Got Talent (the conclusion of Las Vegas week and the final selection of the 48 acts headed for the New York live shows) dominated the 9 and 10 pm hours. The two-hour episode averaged a 2.8 rating (pending upward adjustment), building from a 2.5 in the 9:00 half hour to a 3.0 in the 10:30 half hour. For the night, NBC averaged a 2.5 rating from 8-11 pm, a massive improvement over the usual Wednesday night disaster rating (usually around a 1.0 and as low as a 0.8 last week).
FOX was pushed down to second place, to a 2.0 rating from 8-10 pm for So You Think You Can Dance. Since May 30, SYTYCD on Wednesday had been in the mid-2 rating range: 2.7– 2.5– 2.5– 2.4.
ABC failed to launch Final Witness last night at 10 pm, earning a very poor 1.0 rating in the hour (1.1 in the 10:00 half hour and 1.0 in the 10:30 half hour). The scripted murder mystery told from the perspective of the victim finished third in the hour, way behind the final hour of AGT and also behind a low-rated CSI repeat. ABC had been promoting Final Witness fairly heavily the past few days (along with promotion for Duets, Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition, the already dead Glass House, the return of Wipeout, and early teases for Good Afternoon America.) All of that promotion has completely crowded out new fall promos — since the NBA Finals ended, ABC has almost completely ignored its fall shows. Clearly, the current schedule needs to be supported — but another wave of promotion for Duets and Glass House, at the expense of its promising new fall dramas, hardly seems worth it. Look for a complete update in the next Promo Watch early next week.
The rest of ABC’s schedule last night was repeat comedy: The Middle (0.9), Suburgatory (0.8) and two episodes of Modern Family (each 1.3). For the night, ABC averaged a 1.1 rating, down a touch from a 1.2 rating last week.
CBS dropped to a 1.1 from 8-11 pm last night, down from a 1.3 the past two weeks. Dogs in the City skidded to a 0.9, matching a series low. At 9 pm, a repeat Criminal Minds turned in a 1.4, on par with other repeats this summer, but CSI at 10 pm really seemed hurt by AGT‘s special appearance in the time period, dropping to a summer-low 1.1 rating (down from a 1.4-1.5 the last four weeks).
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WEDNESDAY Ratings
Preliminary ratings are delayed by Nielsen until at least 9:30 am PT (90 minutes past due). The ratings service is performing extra “quality checks,” so be prepared for unusually high quality ratings later this morning!
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