Fast National ratings for Tuesday, August 21, 2012.
“America’s Got Talent” was down from last Tuesday’s already so-so return, but it still commandingly won both of its hours, as NBC held on through repeats of “Go On” and “Animal Practice” to win primetime.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 2.0 rating for Tuesday night, nipping FOX’s 1.9 rating in the key demographic. CBS averaged a 1.1 key demo rating, followed by ABC’s 0.8 key demo rating. The CW posted a 0.3 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 7.86 million viewers and a 4.9 rating/8 share, this time edging out CBS’ 4.8/8 and 7.15 million viewers. FOX was a distant third with a 2.8/5 and 4.66 million viewers, while ABC averaged a 2.1/3 and 3 million viewers. The CW averaged a 0.5/1 and 735,000 viewers for Tuesday night.
[Univision averaged 3.37 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 for Tuesday primetime.]
8 p.m. – “America’s Got Talent” started primetime in first for NBC with 9.26 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was a close-ish second with 8.05 million viewers for an “NCIS” repeat, which came in third with a 1.2 key demo rating. FOX’s repeat of “MasterChef” was a distant third overall with 3.42 million viewers and second with a 1.3 key demo rating, compared to the 3.08 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for ABC’s repeats of “The Middle” and “Last Man Standing.” The CW’s “Hart of Dixie” repeat averaged 880,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – NBC stayed in first for the 9 p.m. hour with 10.02 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 for “America’s Got Talent.” CBS’ repeat of “NCIS: Los Angeles” was second with 7.11 million viewers and third with a 1.1 key demo rating. FOX’s “MasterChef” was a close second with a 2.4 key demo rating and finished third overall with 5.9 million viewers. There was a big drop to the 1.92 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for repeats of “Happy Endings” and “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” on ABC and then to the 590,000 viewers and 0.2 key demo rating for The CW’s new “The L.A. Complex.”
10 p.m. – A repeat of “The Mentalist” was first overall for the 10 p.m. hour with 6.28 million viewers for CBS, which was second with a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. Repeats of the pilots of “Go On” (4.85 million and a 1.4 key demo rating) and “Animal Practice” (3.74 million and a 1.0 key demo rating) added to their post-Olympics samplings for NBC. ABC’s “NY Med” averaged 4.005 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.