"Hell's Kitchen" had a strong night, but "Shaq Vs" doesn't look like it will be launching a new career for the hoops legend. Daniel Fienberg <div>Fast National ratings for Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.</div> <div></div> <div>Paced by "Hell's Kitchen," FOX won the Tuesday ratings race in the 18-49 demo, while "America's Got Talent" helped NBC win the night overall. Meanwhile, "Shaq Vs" had a less-than-huge debut.</div> <div></div> <div>Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 2.6 rating to nip the 2.5 rating for NBC. CBS' 1.9 rating and the 1.5 rating for ABC followed closely in the key demographic. The CW's 0.4 rating was fifth.</div> <div></div> <div>Overall, though, NBC averaged an estimated 9.79 million viewers in primetime to go with a 5.9 rating/10 share. CBS was second with a 4.6/8, while FOX's 3.4/6 and the 3.1/5 for ABC followed. The CW took fifth with a 0.6/1.</div> <div></div> <div>CBS started the night in first with a 6.3/11 for "NCIS." FOX's "Hell's Kitchen" and ABC's "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" both averaged a 4.1/7, though FOX's series averaged more than a million more viewers and handily won the hour in the 18-49 demo with a 3.4 rating. NBC's "America's Got Talent" repeat was fourth. On The CW, "90210" had a 0.6/1.</div> <div></div> <div>NBC moved into the lead in the 9 p.m. hour with a 7.0/12 for "America's Got Talent." A dramatic episode of "Big Brother" did a 4.8/8 for CBS and tied with "Talent" for the hourly win in the demo. ABC's "Shaq Vs" premiere did a 2.7/5 (improving on its lead-in in the 18-49 demo), nipping the 2.6/4 for FOX's "More To Love." The CW's "90210" trailed. [Note that while the "Shaq Vs" premiere wasn't great, it was still too good for use to utilize a clever headline like "Shaq Vs The Ratings" or "Shaq Vs Viewers."]</div> <div></div> <div>"America's Got Talent" had a 6.9/12 in the 10 p.m. hour, giving NBC a commanding win. CBS' "Medium" was a distant second, just ahead of the 2.3/4 for ABC's "Primetime" special.</div> <div></div> <div>All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.</div> tv 2009-08-19T19:36:33Z 599 'Hell's Kitchen' and 'America's Got Talent' score 2038-01-01T00:00:00Z false 1664 false false false false false false false false false false 2009-8-19-tv-ratings-nbc-fox-split-tuesday-as-shaq-vs-strikes-out 2009-08-19T15:33:00Z TV Ratings: NBC, FOX split Tuesday as 'Shaq Vs' strikes out published Eastern Time (US & Canada) http://tinyurl.com/l63kqn 7 2009-09-01T03:53:24Z false 5 12