On an otherwise sluggish night for the broadcast nets, Fox ruled as usual Wednesday with another two-hour episode of "So You Think You Can Dance." It was a modest bow, meanwhile, for NBC's "Celebrity Circus."
According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, the dance performances of the 20 finalists on "So You Think You Can Dance" averaged a potent 3.4 rating/11 share in adults 18-49 and 8.8 million viewers overall from 8 to 10 p.m., peaking with a 3.9 demo rating in its final half-hour.
At NBC, the return of "Deal or No Deal" averaged a 2.1/7 in 18-49 and 8.5 million viewers overall from 8 to 9:30 p.m., leading into the premiere of "Celebrity Circus" (2.3/6 in 18-49, 6.5 million viewers overall), which posted nothing-special numbers from 9:30 to 11 p.m. -- in line with other NBC bows this summer like "Last Comic Standing" and "Nashville Star." One bright note for "Circus" is that it held its demo audience throughout its 90 minutes, standing as the top-rated broadcaster in the 10 o'clock hour among 18-49.
CBS and ABC didn't have a whole lot going on, though the Eye perked up at 10 o'clock with a repeat of "CSI: NY" (2.2/6 in 18-49, 9.2 million viewers overall), which doubled the delivery for the series finale of "Men in Trees" on ABC (1.1/3 in 18-49, 4.5 million viewers overall).
Ratings weren't available early Thursday for the season finale of Bravo's "Top Chef," but it figures to challenge for the 10 o'clock lead in some young-adult demos.
At CW, "Farmer Wants a Wife" (0.8/2 in 18-49, 2.0 million viewers overall) continues to hang in there, seeing its best women 18-34 delivery since its premiere (1.4/4).
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 3.4/11; NBC, 2.2/7; CBS, 1.7/5; Univision, 1.6/5; ABC, 1.4/4' CW, 0.6/2.
In total viewers: Fox, 8.8 million; CBS, 7.9 million; NBC, 7.5 million; ABC, 4.2 million; Univision, 3.9 million; CW, 1.6 million.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com