Fox's 'Juniors' jams; 'Eddie' more modest
NBC laps up 'Dog' aud
On a summer evening that featured an unusual amount of original programming on the broadcast nets, NBC also did well with "Dog Eat Dog" and the "Miss Universe Pageant," while UPN's "America's Next Top Model" hit a new high in its third week.
CBS didn't fare as well with its latest "AFI's 100 Years" spec on "Heroes and Villains," as this one left the net fourth for the night in adults 18-49 (2.5/7) and third in total viewers (7.8 million), according to Nielsen.
At Fox, "American Idol" spinoff "American Juniors," also hosted by Ryan Seacrest, won Tuesday's 8 o'clock hour (4.8/15 in adults 18-49, 11.94 million viewers overall), defeating NBC's second-place "Dog Eat Dog" by 41% in 18-49.
'Juniors' on good pace
Among reality contest shows to bow the past two summers, the 15 share for "Juniors" lags behind only last July's 16 share for NBC's "Meet My Folks." Its numbers place it ahead of "American Idol" (14), NBC's "Dog Eat Dog" and "Fame" (13 apiece) and the Peacock's "For Love or Money" (12).
Show, which will air in the same Tuesday-at-8 hour on Fox's sked this fall, fared best among female teens (29 share) and women 18-34 (20 share).
At 9, "Keen Eddie" slipped to third in adults 18-49 (3.2/9, 7.60 million viewers overall) -- behind NBC's "Miss Universe" (4.0/10 for the hour in 18-49) and a tick behind ABC's repeat comedies (3.3/9). "Eddie" retained its men 18-49 lead-in aud from "Juniors" but lost a good chunk of the talent show's female aud.
Fox will likely be patient with a show that received mostly positive reviews. Amid a torrent of unscripted programs this summer, "Eddie" is the only firstrun drama skedded on any net.
'Dog' improves
At NBC, "Dog Eat Dog" (3.4/11 in A18-49, 8.52m) withstood additional competish from "Juniors" and improved slightly on its week-earlier rating. It placed second at 8, leading into "Miss Universe" (4.3/12, 12.07m), which led from 9 to 11.
In its first year at NBC after airing on CBS for many seasons, "Universe" was up year-to-year by 7% in adults 18-49 to match a 10-year high. It improved an even bigger 30% in women 18-34 (to 5.6/16).
UPN's "America's Next Top Model" built 31% week-to-week in adults 18-49 (1.6/5 to 2.1/6) and improved to a 2.7/8 in adults 18-34 -- good enough for a second-place finish in the 9 o'clock hour behind NBC. It delivered the net's best-ever female demos in the timeslot with regular series programming.
The sixth annual AFI "100 Years" spec on CBS, meanwhile, was up slightly in adults 18-49 from last year's "100 Years/100 Passions" (2.3/7), but down in total viewers.
ABC went with an all-repeat lineup, but "According to Jim" placed first at 9 in adults 18-49 (3.8/10).
