The CW brass considered the new Sarah Michelle Gellar drama Ringer a self-starter, and it proved them right in its debut last night. The mystery drama originally developed and piloted for CBS drew 2.74 million viewers, jumping 68% from its lead-in, the fourth-season premiere of 90210 (1.6 million). Ringer also brought…

NBC, the only English-speaking broadcast network to offer an all original lineup on Tuesday, won the night in 18-49 (2.3.6) and total viewers (9.2 million). It was paced by a two-hour America’s Got Talent (2.9/8), which was down a tenth from last Tuesday’s fast national 18-49 rating (down 6% from the final as the…

What do American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Survivor, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, Hell’s Kitchen, Big Brother, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent and Wipeout have in common? They are broadcast TV’s biggest reality franchises of the past decade. And they all launched in the summer. Summer used to be…

NBC’s America’s Got Talent (3.0/8 in adults 18-49, 10.9 million viewers from 9-11 PM) was down 9% in 18-49 from last Tuesday but still topped the night in all key measures and led NBC to a nightly win. (Its lead-in, It’s Worth What? was up a tenth to a 1.2/4). Once again, a rerun of Wipeout (1.9/6) at 8 PM…

With Fox switching to repeats on Tuesday night following last week’s season finale of MasterChef, most of the original competition posted ratings gains. NBC’s America’s Got Talent (3.1/8 in 18-49, 11.6 million viewers) was up 11% from last Tuesday and was once again the night’s highest-rated program. Its lead-in, It’s…

Fox’s MasterChef ended its season last night with a two-hour finale, averaging a 2.6/8 among 18-49. That was up 30% from last year’s two-hour finale on Sept. 15. The 8 PM episode drew a 2.4/8 and 5.9 million viewers, while the actual finale at 9 PM rose to 2.8/8 and 7.3 million viewers, up 40% from last year’s final…

Fox (2.6/8 among adults 18-49, 6.2 million viewers) won Tuesday in 18-49 with Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen (2.7/9, 6.3 million) and MasterChef (2.5/7, 6.1 million), both flat vs. last week in the demo, while MasterChef drew its largest audience ever. The other originals last night were all down vs. last Tuesday: ABC…

Three networks — NBC, Fox and ABC — offered all-original lineups last night, including the OK though not spectacular debut of ABC’s new reality series Take the Money and Run (1.9/5 in 18-49, 5.1 million viewers), from producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Bertram van Munster, at 9 PM. It held onto 95% of its Wipeout (2.0/6)…

With Fox’s and NBC’s unscripted lineups heading in opposite direction — Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen and Masterchef rising and NBC’s It’s Worth What? and America’s Got Talent tumbling — Fox tied NBC for the top spot Tuesday night among adults 18-49 with a 2.5 rating. Hell’s Kitchen (2.6/9) was up a tenth from last week, while…