"America's Got Talent" was Wednesday's top-rated show, thanks in part to a speech by President Obama that cut into "The Voice" and "So You Think You Can Dance," according to preliminary numbers.
With Obama's speech on Afghanistan running until 8:16 p.m., the first half-hour of "The Voice" results show on NBC, which began immediately following the address, dropped 34 percent compared to Tuesday night's episode, earning a 2.9 rating/9 share in the adults 18-49 demographic and 8.1 million total viewers. The show rebounded in the 8:30 slot, taking a 3.3 rating/10 share in the demo and 9.7 million total viewers. (The 9 p.m. slot, which split the conclusion of "The Voice" with the beginning of "America's Got Talent," received 3.7/11 in the demo and 12.2 million total viewers.) The network's 9:30 slot, dominated by "America's Got Talent," drew the night's top performance with a 3.9/11 in the demo and 13.2 million total viewers. The remainder of "Talent" filled the 10 and 10:30 slots for NBC, taking a 3.8/10 and 2.8/8 in the demo respectively, with 12.7 and 10.1 million total viewers.
On Fox, the first half-hour of "So You Think You Can Dance," which split its slot with the address, received a 1.7/6 in the demo and 4.6 million total viewers. The remainder of the episode, running from 8:30 to 10, recovered markedly but was still down 22 percent from last Wednesday's episode with a 2.1/6 in the demo and 6.1 million total viewers.
Aside from the presidential address, ABC's sole original programming was the "Nightline Prime" special "Beyond Belief" at 10, which was down 19 percent compared to last week's special with a 1.3/4 in the demo and 4.7 million total viewers.
CBS ran repeats throughout the evening, with the exception of the Obama speech.
