TV Ratings: 'America's Got Talent' finale gives Jay Leno a Wednesday bump

'America's Got Talent' winner Kevin Skinner

Credit: Trae Patton/NBC

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Sept 16, 2009.

After dropping in its second airing, NBC's "The Jay Leno" show was back up on Night Three thanks, in no small part, to the finale of "America's Got Talent," which brought a huge audience to the network.

In other news, The CW's "The Beautiful Life: TBL" had a dismal premiere and FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Glee" were both down in their second airings of the season (facing the obviously compatible "AGT" finale).

Among adults 18-49, NBC was in control with a 3.5 rating, followed by FOX's solid 2.7 rating. ABC's 1.7 rating and the 1.6 rating for CBS followed in the key demographic, with The CW's 1.0 rating trailing.

Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 14.73 million viewers to go with a 9.1 rating/15 share for a large margin of victory over the 4.2/7 for CBS. FOX's 3.9/6 was ahead of the 2.8/5 for ABC, leaving The CW in last with a 1.5/3.

NBC swept the primetime hours starting at 8 p.m. with an 8.4/14 for the start of the "America's Got Talent" finale. FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" was second with a 3.6/6 (and a 2.4 demo rating), nipping the 3.5/6 for ABC's "Wipeout" (which actually topped the FOX dancing show in total viewers). CBS was fourth with "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried." The CW's "America's Next Top Model" was fifth overall with a 2.0/3, but the show's 1.4 demo rating finished ahead of CBS.

"America's Got Talent" was up to a 10.5/17 for its conclusion, with 18+ million viewers watching the second half-hour. CBS' "Criminal Minds" was a distant second, beating the 4.2/7 for FOX's "Glee," which was down from last week with 6.64 million viewers, but still had a strong 3.1 demo rating. ABC's "Crash Course" was well back in fourth. The premiere of The CW's "The Beautiful Life: TBL" had a 1.1/2 and drew only 1.46 million viewers to go with a 0.7 demo rating. 

In the 10 p.m. hour, NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" held onto an 8.4/14 and 13.1 million viewers. CBS' "CSI: NY" was second with a 5.1/9, leaving ABC's "Primetime: Family Secrets" a distant 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.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

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A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.