TV Ratings: NBC’s ‘Talent,’ ‘Up All Night’ hold off ‘Survivor,’ ‘Big Brother’ on Wednesday

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, September 14, 2011.
OK. Now things are finally starting to get interesting again.
On a Wednesday night that featured finales for “America’s Got Talent” and “Big Brother,” plus premieres for “Survivor,” “Up All Night,” “Free Agents,” “America’s Next Top Model” and “H8r,” there was plenty to digest. 
NBC won the night in most key measures, but the “AGT” finale was significantly down from last year’s season-closer and while “Up All Night” delivered extremely encouraging premiere numbers, fellow Wednesday comedy “Free Agents” may be dead on arrival.
Things were similarly tempered for CBS, where after a season of rising numbers, “Big Brother” had a finale that was flat (or possibly down) from last year, while “Survivor: South Pacific” couldn’t equal the numbers for the “Survivor: Nicaragua” launch last September.
Time to break Wednesday night down.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 3.3 rating for the night, edging out CBS’ 3.1 rating in the key demographic. There was a big drop to ABC’s 1.4 rating, the 0.8 rating for FOX and The CW’s 0.7 rating.
Overall, NBC had more of a cushion, averaging 12.21 million viewers and a 7.4 rating/12 share. CBS was second with a 5.5/9 and 9.18 million viewers. Again, there was a large drop to ABC’s 2.9/5 and 4.5 million viewers and FOX’s 2.0/3 and 2.91 million viewers. The CW averaged 1.625 million viewers and a 1.1/2 for the night.
[Univision averaged 3.87 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 for the night.]
8 p.m. – NBC started primetime in first with 12.51 million viewers for “America’s Got Talent,” though “AGT” finished second among adults 18-49 with a 3.2 rating. CBS’s “Survivor: South Pacific” averaged 10.44 million viewers and a 3.3 key demo rating for its first hour. ABC’s “The Middle” repeats averaged 4.53 million viewers, compared to 2.78 million viewers for FOX’s new “Buried Treasure,” which plummeted to 2.78 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating against original competition. The CW’s “H8r” premiere averaged 1.34 million viewers and a 0.6 rating, which is either dismal or, if you’re spinning it from a CW perspective, the network’s best reality premiere since “Hitched or Ditched” back in May of 2009 (in your face, “Shedding For The Wedding”).
9 p.m. – “America’s Got Talent” improved to 15.5 million viewers and a 3.9 key demo rating for the 9 p.m. hour, which sounds impressive till you remember that over 18 million viewers watched the last hour of last year’s finale. CBS’ “Survivor” premiere (10.84 million and a 3.5 key demo) and “Big Brother” finale (8.06 million and a 3.1 key demo rating) were second. Repeats of “Modern Family” averaged 4.85 million viewers for ABC, while a repeat of “Buried Treasure” averaged 3.05 million viewers for FOX. On The CW, the premiere of “America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars” averaged only 1.91 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating, which was vastly lower than last year’s premiere (in the 8 p.m. hour), but somewhat in line with what the reality series was doing in the 9 p.m. hour in the spring.
10 p.m. – NBC won the 10 p.m. hour with “Up All Night” (a big viewer drop to 10.91 million viewers, but only a tiny drop with a 3.7 key demo rating) and “Free Agents” (already a dud with 6.335 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating). The “Big Brother” finale averaged 7.645 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating for CBS. ABC’s “Primetime Nightline” was third with 4.125 million viewers.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.
 
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