Fox was back on top among 18-49 viewers Tuesday night, bolstered by its hit musical/comedy series "Glee," and a solid showing by the season premiere of "Hell’s Kitchen."
But the season premiere of NBC’s summer hit "America’s Got Talent" drew the most viewers, averaging 12 million.
"Glee" in the 9-10 p.m. time period, scored the highest 18-49 rating of any show with a 3.8, but was closely followed by NBC’s "Talent," which recorded a 3.6 18-49 rating from 8-10 p.m. "Glee’s" 3.8 18-49 rating was down 21 percent without its usual "American Idol" lead-in, but it was the series’ highest-rated 18-49 episode and most-watched (8.9 million viewers) without an "Idol" lead-in.
"Glee" was also the highest-rated program of the night among adults 18-34 and teens, and so far this spring, "Glee" is up by 48 percent from its fall average.
"Hell’s Kitchen," leading of the night for Fox at 8, recorded a 2.9 18-49 rating, up 4 percent from its summer premiere last season on July 21.
The Fox shows combined produced a 3.4 18-49 rating to edge out NBC, whose "America’s Got Talent" and the series premiere of "Losing It With Jillian," recorded a combined 3.3.
CBS, as usual, was fairly competitive among viewers with repeats of three of its hit dramas, but those shows clearly appeal to an older audience. "NCIS" at 8 p.m. drew 10.6 million viewers but only a 1.6 18-49 rating; "NCIS: Los Angeles" at 9 was watched by 9.2 million viewers but recorded a 1.7 18-49 rating, and "The Good Wife" at 10 was watched by 7 million but had only a 1.3 18-49 rating.
ABC’s two-hour season premiere of game show "Wipeout" produced a solid 18-49 rating of 3.0 and averaged 8 million viewers against the hit NBC reality show "America’s Got Talent," which was up in it’s 18-49 rating to a 3.6, 13 percent higher than last season’s premiere on June 23.
