Teens' 'Choice' is Fox

Adolescent auds tune into awards show

By RICK KISSELL

'Big Brother' won its new Thursday timeslot after CBS shuffled its schedule.

The Peacock's 'America's Got Talent' was the week's No. 1 show in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers.

NBC is riding some momentum into its coverage of the Olympic Games, finishing near the top in key ratings categories during what was another soft sesh for the broadcasters.

Thanks to "America's Got Talent" -- the week's No. 1 show -- and a boost from the first preseason football game of the summer, NBC nearly caught Fox for the week's lead among young adults. The net will now count on 17 nights of the Beijing Olympics, an event that should help the Peacock finish a solid second to Fox for the summer stanza.

Of note in cable, meanwhile: AMC's "Mad Men" took a substantial step back in its second week, averaging 1.33 million viewers after opening to a series-best 2.06 million the previous frame, according to Nielsen estimates. It was trounced in its Sunday slot by two other firstrun cable dramas, USA's "In Plain Sight" (4.22 million) and Lifetime's "Army Wives" (4.18 million).

Overall for the week ended Sunday, Fox's 1.8 rating/6 share in adults 18-49 edged out NBC (1.7/6), which was followed by ABC and CBS (both 1.5), Univision (1.4/5) and cabler USA (1.0/3).

NBC finished on top in adults 25-54 (2.1/6 to a 2.0/6 for CBS and Fox), and CBS led in total viewers (6.3 million), while Univision scored a rare victory among adults 18-34 (1.7/6), edging out Fox (1.6/6).

For NBC, "America's Got Talent" was the frame's No. 1 program in adults 18-49 (3.7/10), adults 25-54 (4.6/12) and total viewers (13.85 million). It drew the largest overall aud for any primetime series telecast since ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" wrapped on May 22.

The Peacock was also aided by an NFL preseason contest between Washington and Indianapolis that dominated Sunday's action (2.6/8 in 18-49, 7.45m). Game was up a big 37% in the demo vs. the net's first game of last summer (1.9/6 for Seattle-San Diego).

At Fox, "So You Think You Can Dance" rocked in its penultimate performance on Wednesday (3.0/8 in 18-49, 8.84m) and results show on Thursday (2.9/9, 8.69m), both of which ranked in the top five.

Net also dominated Saturday with "Cops" (1.5/7 in 18-49, 4.38m from 8 to 9 p.m.) and "America's Most Wanted" (1.4/5, 4.79m) and saw good scores for repeats of "House" and "Family Guy."

Fox then scored on Monday of the current week with "The 2008 Teen Choice Awards" (1.5/5, 4.44m), which surged by 77% year to year among the Clearasil crowd (3.9/14), hitting a four-year high.

CBS was paced last week by repeat comedy "Two and a Half Men" (2.9/8 in 18-49, 9.35m) and saw an improved performance on Thursday thanks to sked switcheroos that brought "Big Brother" (2.3/8, 6.39m) and "Flashpoint" (1.9/6, 7.68m) to the night; both shows won their timeslots.

Not faring as well were the relocated "Greatest American Dog" on Wednesday (1.5/5, 5.81m) and "Swingtown" on Friday (1.2/4, 4.06m), though the former fetched a share of the slot's 18-49 lead.

ABC continues to dominate Tuesday's opening hour with "Wipeout" (3.6/11 in 18-49, 9.70m), and also led the 10 o'clock hour on Tuesday and Wednesday with editions of newsmag "Primetime."

Nonscripted contest "High School Musical: Get in the Picture" continues to drag down the net's overall averages, though, netting a mere 3 share on both Monday and Sunday.

USA cruised to victory among the cable nets, claiming four of the top 10 cable programs in 18-49 and six of the top 10 in 25-54. Top performers in young adults were Monday's 10 p.m. installment of "WWE Raw" (2.0/6, 5.52m), Thursday's "Burn Notice" (1.7/5, 4.86m) and Sunday's "Law & Order: CI" (1.4/4, 4.93m).

TNT ran second thanks to its Monday drama combo of "The Closer" (1.8/5, 7.36m) and "Saving Grace" (1.2/3, 4.78m) and Sunday theatrical "Wedding Crashers" (1.1/3, 2.31m).

Elsewhere, ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (1.2/3, 3.58m) was again Tuesday's top show in cable and was cable's highest-rated scripted primetime program for the week in 18-34 (series-best 1.7/6).

For AMC, "Mad Men's" week two audience of 1.33 million repped a 35% falloff from the previous week's series high (2.06 million). This keeps it ahead of last year's overall average (955,000), but it's clear that a good chunk of viewers who tuned in to the '60s-set skein for the first time following its big haul of Emmy nominations didn't come back, at least not immediately.

Discovery was among the top five cablers in 18-49 and 18-34 thanks to its 21st annual "Shark Week." Net says 29.1 million watched at least some of its programming during the frame, up from last year's 27.2 million.

At E!, "Pam: Girl on the Loose" drew 1.08 million viewers for its debut, while the second-season bow of "Sunset Tan" averaged 1.28 million.