'AMERICA'S GOT TALENT' RANKS #1 IN BOTH 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS FOR A THIRD WEEK IN A ROW

'TALENT' GENERATES THE #1 AND #2 RATINGS OF THE WEEK IN 18-49

THE WEDNESDAY EDITION OF 'AMERICA'S GOT TALENT' SCORES NBC'S BEST 18-49 AND TOTAL-VIEWER RESULTS IN THE TIME PERIOD SINCE OCTOBER 2008

TUESDAY'S 'TALENT' IS THE NIGHT'S #1 TELECAST ON ANY NETWORK IN 18-49 AND WINS ITS HOUR IN EVERY KEY RATINGS CATEGORY

NBC WINS THE 10 P.M. HOUR ON FRIDAY (TIE), SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WITH 'DATELINE, 'SVU' AND 'METEOR' RESPECTIVELY

'METEOR, PART 1' ATTRACTS NBC'S BIGGEST OVERALL AUDIENCE FOR THE SUNDAY 9-11 P.M. ET SLOT SINCE MAY 31

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. � July 14, 2009 � "America's Got Talent" has delivered primetime television's #1 rating in both adults 18-49 and total viewers for a third consecutive week, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research. The Wednesday and Tuesday editions of "America's Got Talent" finished #1 and #2 in 18-49 for the primetime week of July 6-12, leading NBC to an average 1.3 rating, 5 share in 18-49 and 4.8 million viewers overall for the week.

NBC ranked #2 among the broadcast networks for the week in total viewers, adults 25-54 (tie), men 18-34 and men 25-54 (tie).

Also ranking among the top-10 programs for the week in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49 was Tuesday's "Dateline NBC" special "Farewell to Michael Jackson" (#10, tied).

"America's Got Talent" once again demonstrated its broad appeal, as last week's Tuesday and Wednesday editions claimed two of the week's top three rankings among such diverse categories as kids 2-11, teens 12-17, adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers.

Primetime averages for the week of July 6-12 in adults 18-49 were Fox (1.5/5), CBS (1.4/5), ABC, NBC and Univision (1.3/4), Telemundo (0.5/2) and CW (0.3/1). In overall total viewers the weekly averages were CBS (6.5 million), NBC (4.8 million), Fox (4.4 million), ABC (4.3 million), Univision (3.2 million), Telemundo (1.1 million) and CW (0.9 million).

Season to date, NBC is running within 0.7 of a rating point of first place in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49, versus a deficit of 1.3 points at this time last season.

NBC highlights for the week of July 6-12:

* On Tuesday, "America's Got Talent" dominated its time period, winning the 9 p.m. ET hour in every important ratings category. "America's Got Talent" was the #1 telecast of the night on any network in adults 18-49 and most other key ratings categories.

* Wednesday's "America's Got Talent" delivered the night's #1 18-49 and total-viewers results for any program on any network that night and set a nine-month time-period high for NBC.

* Wednesday's 8 p.m. encore of "America's Got Talent" generated NBC's biggest overall audience in that time slot since February.

* On Thursday, encore telecasts of "30 Rock" and "The Office" delivered week-to-week gains at 8, 8:30 and 9 p.m. ET.

* On Friday, "Dateline NBC" tied for the 9-11 p.m. ET slot win in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

* On Saturday, an encore telecast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" won the 10 p.m. ET hour over original drama competition on ABC and CBS in all key ratings categories.

* On Sunday, "Meteor, Part 1" generated NBC's biggest overall audience in the Sunday 9-11 p.m. ET slot since May 31.

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Additional NBC highlights for the week of July 6-12:

On Monday July 6 at 8 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order" averaged a 1.1 rating, 4 share in adults 18-49 and 4.7 million viewers overall.

Monday at 9 p.m. ET, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 5.1 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in by 9 percent in adults 18-49 and 8 percent in total viewers. From its first half-hour to its second, "Law & Order: CI" built by 8 percent in adult 18-49 rating (1.3 vs. 1.2) and 29 percent in adult 18-34 rating (0.9 vs. 0.7).

Monday at 10 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" averaged a 1.5/4 in 18-49 and 5.3 million viewers overall. "Dateline" ranked #2 among the broadcast networks in the time slot in total viewers, adults 25-54 and other key categories.

On Tuesday, July 7 from 8-9 p.m. ET, the premiere of "Great American Road Trip" averaged a 1.3/5 in 18-49 and 4.6 million viewers overall. "Great American Road Trip" ranked #2 in the time period in total viewers, adults 25-54 (tie) and adults 18-34. "Great American Road Trip" grew from half-hour to half-hour by 8 percent in adults 18-49 (to a 1.4 rating from a 1.3), 14 percent in women 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.4) and 22 percent in adults 18-34 (1.1 vs. 0.9).

Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, "America's Got Talent" (3.0/9 in adults 18-49, 10.6 million viewers overall) dominated the time period, winning the hour in all key ratings categories -- adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers. From its first half-hour to its second, "America's Got Talent" increased its 18-49 rating by 26 percent (to a 3.4/9 from a 2.7/8) and its overall viewership by 18 percent or 1.7 million persons (to 11.4 million from 9.7 million).

"America's Got Talent" was the #1 telecast of the night in adults 18-49 and most other key ratings categories.

Tuesday from 10-11 p.m. ET, a "Farewell to Michael Jackson" edition of "Dateline NBC" (2.3/7 in 18-49, 6.3 million viewers overall) ranked #2 in the time period in adults 18-49 and was #1 among the broadcast networks in men 18-49 and adults, men and women 18-34.

NBC won Tuesday night in adults 18-49 for a third week in a row.

On Wednesday July 8 from 8-9 p.m. ET, the encore telecast of "America's Got Talent" (1.6/6 in 18-49, 6.3 million viewers overall) jumped week-to-week by 14 percent in 18-49 and 5 percent in total viewers to score NBC's highest 18-49 rating in this time period in four weeks (since June 10) and biggest overall viewership in more than four months (since February 25). From its first half-hour to its second, the 8 p.m. ET "Talent" encore increased by 20 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.8/6 rating from a 1.5/5).

Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, "America's Got Talent" (3.3/10 in 18-49, 11.9 million viewers overall) generated the #1 results of the night in adults 18-49 and total viewers. "America's Got Talent" was up week-to-week by 14 percent in 18-49 and 4 percent in total viewers, producing NBC's highest 18-49 and total-viewer results in the time period since October 1, 2008 (with last year's "America's Got Talent" finale). From its first half-hour to its second, "America's Got Talent" increased by 23 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 3.7/11 from a 3.0/9) and by 17 percent or 1.9 million persons in total viewers (to 12.9 million from 11.0 million).

"America's Got Talent" posted dramatic growth in the Wednesday 9 p.m. ET time period versus NBC's pre-"Talent" summer average in the slot -- including gains of 94 percent in adults 18-49 (3.3 vs. 1.7), 83 percent in adults 18-34 (2.2 vs. 1.2) and 100 percent in adults 25-54 (4.2 vs. 2.1).

Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET, NBC's "The Philanthropist" averaged a 1.4/4 in 18-49 and 5.1 million viewers overall, to match its 18-49 rating of the prior week. "The Philanthropist" tied for #1 in the time period among the broadcast networks in men 25-54 (with a 1.6 rating, tying both ABC and CBS).

NBC ranked #1 Wednesday night in total viewers.

On Thursday, July 9 from 8-8:30 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "30 Rock" (1.1/4 in 18-49, 3.2 million viewers overall) attracted NBC's biggest overall audience in the time period in three weeks. Week to week, "30 Rock" was up in the time slot by 10 percent in 18-49 rating and 5 percent in total viewers.

Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "The Office" (1.3/4 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall) was up week-to-week by 30 percent in 18-49 and 17 percent in total viewers.

Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "The Office" (1.3/4 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall) delivered week-to-week increases of 8 percent in 18-49 and 3 percent in total viewers. "The Office" was #2 in the time period among adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49.

Thursday from 9:31-10:01 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "30 Rock" averaged a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 2.5 million viewers overall. "30 Rock" tied for #2 in the time slot in adults 18-34 and men 18-34.

Thursday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "The Listener" averaged a 0.7/2 in 18-49 and 3.3 million viewers overall. "The Listener" ranked #2 among the broadcast networks in the time period in adults 18-49 and total viewers.

On Friday, July 10 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "Chopping Block" (0.6/3 in 18-49, 2.0 million viewers overall) matched the 18-49 rating of its prior two telecasts on July 3 and June 19.

From 9-11 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" (1.0/4 in 18-49, 4.2 million viewers overall) tied for #1 in the time period in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. In its second hour, from 10-11 p.m., "Dateline NBC" ranked #1 or tied for #1 among the broadcast networks in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, plus most other key demographics.

On Saturday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET, "Kings" averaged a 0.4/2 in 18-49 and 1.7 million viewers overall.

Saturday at 9 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (0.6/2 in 18-49, 3.1 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in by 50 percent in 18-49 rating and 81 percent in total viewers.

Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.1/4 in 18-49, 4.9 million viewers overall) won the time period in all key ratings categories against the original competition of CBS's "Harper's Island" finale and ABC's "Eli Stone." "Law & Order: SVU" built on its lead-in by 83 percent in adults 18-49 and 59 percent in total viewers.

On Sunday, July 12 from 7-8 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Great American Road Trip" averaged a 0.7/3 in 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers overall. "Great American Road Trip" finished within 1 share of the time-period lead in adults 18-49.

Sunday from 8-9 p.m. ET, "Merlin" delivered a 0.9/3 in 18-49 and 3.7 million viewers overall. "Merlin" built on its lead-in by 29 percent in 18-49 rating and 37 percent in total viewers.

Sunday from 9-11 p.m. ET, "Meteor, Part 1" averaged a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 5.1 million viewers overall. "Meteor, Part 1" ranked #2 among the broadcast networks in the time period in adults 25-54 and all key adult-male demos. In total viewers, "Meteor" generated NBC's biggest overall audience in the time period since May 31. From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Meteor, Part 1" increased its 18-49 rating by 44 percent (to a 1.3 from a 0.9) and its overall viewership by 29 percent or 1.3 million persons (to 5.7 million from 4.4 million).

For its concluding hour from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Meteor, Part 1" was #1 among the broadcast networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and other key demos.