Weekly ratings: Fourth-place network has highest-rated show
ABC was the lowest-rated major broadcast network last week yet continued to air the nation's highest-rated show.
Tuesday's obstacle-course competition series "Wipeout" (10 million viewers, 3.7 rating/12 share in adults 18-49) has been the bright spot for ABC -- and among original programming in general this summer -- while many time periods continue to be ruled by comedy and drama repeats.
Following up "Wipeout" with another new reality hit has proved difficult, however. ABC's new game show "Wanna Bet" (3.1 million, 1.1/3) and the "High School Musical" reality show spinoff "Get in the Picture" ( 3.1 million, 0.9/2 on Monday) stumbled out of the gate.
Airing twice last week, "HSM: Picture" came in fourth place for its Sunday and Monday time periods. With "HSM: Picture" as a lead-in on Mondays, "Bet" premiered in fourth place as well. "Wipeout" lead-out "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" (5.6 million, 2.1/6) sank to a season-low on Tuesday.
Fox won the week in the demo thanks to dual editions of "So You Think You Can Dance" (8.6 million, 3.0/9 on Wednesday) and Sunday night animated repeats.
CBS' repeat-driven lineup tied NBC's original reality-heavy lineup for second place. CBS swapped Friday night's "Flashpoint" and Thursday night's "Swingtown" and, as one might expect, ended up with a slightly better rating last week for "Flashpoint" (6.7 million, 1.7/5) and a slightly lower rating for "Swingtown" (4.2 million, 1.4/5). CBS' Monday repeats continue to lead the network.
On NBC, most reality efforts were on par, but "The Baby Borrowers" (3.2 million, 2.0/6) suddenly dropped 17% to a series low. Tuesday night's "America's Got Talent" (13.2 million, 3.4/10) ranked as the second-highest-rated show for the week.
Overall for the week ending Sunday, Fox notched 5.5 million viewers and a 2.0 rating/7 share), followed by CBS (6.1 million, 1.6/5), NBC (5.4 million, 1.6/5), ABC (4.3 million, 1.4/5) and the CW (1.6 million, 0.6/2).