NBC wins Wednesday; Fox's 'Dance' down

By Paul J. Gough

UPDATED: NBC won a quiet broadcast primetime Wednesday night with "America's Got Talent," which was even compared with last week. Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" saw a 12% ratings drop from the week before.

The 9 p.m. "America's Got Talent" (12.9 million, 3.5 rating/11 share in adults 18-49) was the night's top broadcast program in viewers and the adults 18-49 demo, according to preliminary estimates released Thursday by Nielsen Media Research. "America's Got Talent" was down 3% in adults 18-49 compared to last week, when it was the top-rated show not only for the night, but the week.

Meanwhile, a two-hour "So You Think You Can Dance" (5.9 million, 2.2/7) lost a little spring in its ratings step. It is tracking to be the lowest summer run for the Fox competition, and Wednesday's episode was down 12% from a week ago among adults 18-49. Season-to-date, it's up 13% in the demo compared to the fall run. But it's down 14% on Wednesdays compared to last summer (3.0 in adults 18-49 compared to 3.5) and has dropped 11% on Thursdays (3.2 now compared to 3.6 last year).

NBC kept its lead at 10 p.m., when a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.9 million, 1.7/6) won at 10 p.m.

ABC and CBS were both in repeats, none of which were factors.