The return of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" fell flat Sunday as viewers continued to largely reject the networks’ attempt to serve up first-run fare during the summer.
Regis wasn’t the only one in need of a lifeline, however. CBS’s heavily hyped Mike Fleiss competition series "There Goes the Neighborhood" disappointed, as did ABC’s new Mark Burnett-produced hour "Shark Tank."
ABC had set expectations low for "Millionaire," and the show’s return met them. The first telecast in the 11-night "event" averaged a 1.5 rating/5 share among adults 18-49 and 6.98 million viewers from 8-9 p.m, finishing fourth in demos and third for the hour in overall viewers, according to preliminary fast national data from Nielsen.