TV Ratings: MLB All-Star Game leads Tuesday, while ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ returns big

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, July 16, 2013.

The MLB All-Star Game delivered FOX’s biggest numbers of the summer and helped the network rule Tuesday in all measures, but perhaps the biggest story of the night was a powerhouse resurrection for “Whose Line Is It Anyway” on The CW.

Tuesday’s other original programming — “Extreme Weight Loss” and “America’s Got Talent” — was basically flat.

And remember that these numbers are time-period data for FOX, rather than specific ratings for the All-Star game.

For the night, FOX averaged a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49, holding off NBC’s 2.0 rating in the key demographic. ABC and CBS were a distant third with a 1.0 key demo rating, while The CW did a summer-best 0.7 key demo rating.

Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 10.28 million viewers and a 6.4 rating/11 share for Tuesday, easily beating NBC’s 4.7/8 and 7.9 million viewers. CBS was third with a 4.4/7 and 6.53 million viewers, beating ABC’s 2.3/4 and 3.29 million viewers. The CW’s 1.1/2 and 1.9 million viewers night was its best summer performance.

8 p.m. – The All-Star Game started primetime with 10.45 million viewers and a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49 for FOX. [Note that as a relatively brief game, the All-Star game only ran 15 minutes into primetime on the West Coast.] CBS was second overall with 8.62 million viewers for “NCIS,” which also finished second with a 1.3 key demo rating. NBC’s encore of “Hollywood Game Night” did a solid 4.03 million viewers and tied for third with a 1.1 key demo rating. ABC’s “Extreme Weight Loss” was fourth with 3.45 million viewers and fifth with a 1.0 key demo rating. The CW’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway” averaged 2.9 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, which are  better viewership and key demo numbers than any of the network’s finales in May. [Some notable CW figures: This was the network’s best time period performance in total viewers since November 2009 and in the 18-49 demo since February 2011. It was The CW’s most watched unscripted premiere since 2007. And, of course, it was the network’s best comedy performance since whenever the heck “Everybody Hates Chris” went off the air.]

9 p.m. – FOX stayed in first in the 9 p.m. hour with 10.11 million viewers for the All-Star Game, which also won the hour with a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” averaged 9.01 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating in second. CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles” repeat was third overall with 6.07 million viewers and fourth with a 0.9 key demo rating. ABC’s “Extreme Weight Loss” was fourth with 3.45 million viewers and third with a 1.1 key demo rating. The CW’s premiere for “Perfect Score” plunged to 891,000 viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating off of its “Whose Line” lead-in, but The CW almost certainly would have been satisfied with those numbers if you’d asked yesterday.

10 p.m. – “America’s Got Talent” won the 10 p.m. hour with 10.65 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “Person of Interest” repeat averaged 4.88 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating for second, beating the 2.97 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for ABC’s “Body of Proof” repeat.