TV Ratings: 'Biggest Loser' premiere makes NBC a Tuesday winner

'The Biggest Loser' host Alison Sweeney

Credit: Trae Patton/NBC

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009.

The second night of "The Jay Leno Show" lost seven million viewers from its premiere, but it still won its hour and combined with the premiere of "The Biggest Loser" to help NBC dominate Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, The CW's "Melrose Place" reboot dropped from its premiere and may already be in some trouble.

Among adults 18-49, NBC won Wednesday night with a 3.7 rating, comfortably ahead of the 2.7 rating for CBS. FOX was third with a 1.7 rating in the key demographic, followed by the 1.5 rating for ABC and The CW's 1.1 rating.

Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 10.16 million viewers to go with a 6.4 rating/11 share. CBS was a close second with a 5.8/10. ABC was a distant third with a 3.2/5, with FOX's 2.7/4 and The CW's 1.5/2 trailing.

CBS won the 8 p.m. hour overall with a 7.7/13 for "NCIS," with NBC in second with the 6.0/10 for "Biggest Loser." The NBC reality series won the hour in the 18-49 demo with a 3.5 rating, leaving CBS' repeat in second. The first part of FOX's "More to Love" finale was third with a 2.5/4, just beating a "Shark Tank" repeat on ABC. The CW's "90210" did a 1.7/3, down only slightly from last week's premiere.

NBC moved into first at 9 p.m. with the 6.5/10 for the second hour of "The Biggest Loser," which improved to a 4.1 in the key demo. The first hour of CBS' "Big Brother" finale was a distant second, still far ahead of the 3.0/5 for the conclusion of FOX's "More to Love," which edged out the 2.8/4 for ABC's "Shaq Vs." The CW's "Melrose Place" had a 1.4/2 and averaged 1.81 million viewers, both down (not hugely, but more than "90210") from last week's already underwhelming premiere.

In the 10 p.m. hour, "The Jay Leno Show" had a 6.9/12 and 10.74 million viewers (under 10 million in its second half-hour), off from the 17.7 million who watched the Monday premiere. "The Jay Leno Show" had a 3.3 demo rating, down both from Monday and from its lead-in. The end of "Big Brother" on CBS had a 4.8/8 in its second hour, plus a 3.0 demo rating. ABC's Patrick Swayze special was a solid third.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.