It was a battle between two of primetime’s most popular shows on Wednesday as CBS’ “Big Brother” and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” fought for the ratings crown.
“Big Brother” came out victorious in terms of the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic, with a whopping 0.75 rating, to which “AGT” couldn’t hold a flame with only a 0.62.
However, in terms of total viewers, “AGT” still won out with an average of 6.8 million compared to 3.9 million for “Big Brother.”
Despite a strong performance from “Big Brother,” the rest of CBS’ lineup couldn’t muster high enough ratings to help the network take the top spot. That went to NBC, thanks to a solid showing from its new game show, “Password,” which helped boost the network’s average to a 0.57 in the demo (which beat CBS’ 0.49 average).
Here’s how the rest of primetime shook out across the major broadcasters:
NBC was first in ratings with an average 0.57 rating in the key demo and in total viewers with an average of 6 million, according to official live plus same-day Nielsen data.
“Password” decoded a 0.47 demo rating and 4.4 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “America’s Got Talent” soared to a 0.62 demo rating and 6.8 million total viewers.
CBS was second in ratings with an average 0.49 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 2.5 million. “Big Brother” scored a 0.75 demo rating and 3.9 million total viewers at 8 p.m., while “The Challenge: USA” took home a 0.36 demo rating and 1.8 million total viewers at 9.
Fox was third in ratings with an average 0.35 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 1.9 million. “MasterChef” aired to a 0.46 demo rating and 2.5 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, an encore of “Monarch” received a 0.24 demo rating and 1.1 million total viewers.
ABC was fourth in ratings with an average 0.18 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 1.4 million. The network opted for a slate of reruns, beginning with “The Connors,” which earned a 0.27 demo rating and 2.2 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 8:30, a special ABC Fall Preview aired to a 0.21 demo rating and 1.6 million total viewers. Up next was “Abbott Elementary,” which drew a 0.23 demo rating and 1.5 million total viewers at 9. “Home Economics” mustered a 0.15 demo rating and 1.2 million total viewers at 9:30, and “Soul of a Nation” ended the night with a 0.11 demo rating and 873,000 total viewers at 10.
The CW was fifth in ratings with an average 0.07 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 434,000. “Stargirl” had a 0.08 demo rating and 505,000 total viewers at 8 p.m. Two back-to-back re-airings of “World’s Funniest Animals” aired in the 9 p.m. hour. The first got a 0.07 demo rating and 388,000 total viewers, while the second managed a 0.05 demo rating and 338,000 total viewers.
Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision was first in the ratings with an average 0.4, but was outpaced by Telemundo in terms of total viewers with an average of only 912,000. On Univision, the Campeones Cup aired throughout primetime.
Telemundo was second in the ratings with a 0.2 average but first in total viewers with 964,000 total average viewers. “Top Chef: VIP,” which ran from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., cooked up a 0.3 demo rating and 1 million total viewers. It was followed by “Fuego del Destino,” which earned a 0.2 demo rating and 922,000 total viewers from 9 to 10. “Infiel: Historia de Un Engaño” ended the night with a 0.2 demo rating and 941,000 total viewers.
