TV Ratings: Wednesday viewers favor 'Dance,' 'Talent'

'America's Got Talent' judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, David Hasselhoff

Credit: Chris Haston/NBC

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

In their head-to-head battle at 9 p.m., NBC's "America's Got Talent" beat FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" overall, but the FOX show drew a higher rating among adults 18-49. And that ended up being the way the evening went as well.

For the night, among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 2.9 rating, far ahead of the 1.9 rating for NBC and ABC's 1.8 rating. CBS was fourth in the key demographic with a 1.6 rating. The CW's 0.4 rating trailed.

Overall, though, NBC averaged an estimated 7.68 million viewers to go with a 4.8 rating/9 share. CBS' 4.6/8 and the 4.5/8 for FOX were very close behind. ABC's 3.2/6 was fourth. The CW stayed fifth with a 0.6/1.

FOX won the 8 p.m. hour with a 4.4/8 for the start of the week's "So You Think You Can Dance" performance episode. ABC's "Wipeout" was a close second with a 4.3/8. NBC's "America's Got Talent" encore had a 4.0/8 for third. CBS was fourth with "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried." That left The CW in fifth with a 0.5/1 for "America's Next Top Model."

NBC grabbed first at 9 p.m. with a 6.8/12 for "America's Got Talent." CBS' "Criminal Minds" was second with a 5.3/9, beating FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance." While "SYTYCD" had a 4.7/8 for the hour, it also averaged more viewers than the CBS repeat and its 3.1 demo rating nipped the 2.9 rating for NBC in the hour. Fourth place went to the 2.1/4 for ABC's "I Survived a Japanese Game Show." The CW's "Hitched or Ditched" encore was fifth.

"CSI: NY" had a 5.4/10 to give CBS the 10 p.m. hour. NBC's "The Philanthropist" had a 3.7/7 in its second week, edging out ABC's "Primetime" special.

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