Finally, the buzz paid off.
After a slew of much-hyped new shows premiered to merely average ratings, NBC?s heavily marketed ?Bionic Woman? conquered a tough field of new and returning shows to win the Wednesday night battleground.
"Bionic" earned a 5.5 rating among adults 18 to 49, topping the premiere of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff "Private Practice," which earned a 5.1. "Bionic" is the highest-rated freshman premiere so far this fall, with "Private" coming in second. "Bionic" won its hour despite "Private" having a stronger lead-in and ranks as the highest-rated Wednesday-night NBC series premiere since "The West Wing" in 1999.
?Bionic? fueled the debut of NBC?s cop drama ?Life,? which earned a strong 4.1 rating to win the 10 p.m. hour and rank as the third best-rated new show. ?Life? topped the season premiere of ?CSI: NY? (3.7, down 26 percent from last year) and the debut of ABC?s ?Dirty Sexy Money? (3.6, down 22 percent from the premiere of ?The Nine? last year, which benefited from a stronger ?Lost? lead-in).
The ?Bionic? vs. ?Private? showdown wounded the rest of the 9 p.m. field. CBS? ?Criminal Minds? was down 22 percent from last year to a 3.5, Fox?s ?Kitchen Nightmares? dropped 22 percent in its second week to a 2.4 and The CW?s ?Gossip Girl? fell 25 percent to an anorexic 1.2.
At 8 p.m., the ?Dancing With the Stars? results show won the hour (an on-par 4.0), followed by the second week of ?Kid Nation? (2.8, dropping 10 percent). NBC?s ?Deal or No Deal? (2.6) and Fox?s ?Back to You? (2.8, down 10 percent) and ?Til Death? (2.4) followed. The CW?s ?America?s Next Top Model? stayed strong with a 2.4.
Overall, ABC nudged out NBC for the nightly win by a tenth of a point, followed by CBS, Fox and The CW. Among total viewers, ABC's Wednesday night victory was more pronounced, and "Private" topped "Bionic" in overall audience.
Ever since the May upfronts when networks unveiled their fall schedules, Wednesdays have been the most-discussed night, given the intense array of competition. ?Bionic? has topped buzz-tracking measures all summer, while the reputation of ?Private Practice? was dented by a backdoor pilot that aired in May. In the past week, however, any sense that buzz produces viewers seemed to go out the window as the drumbeats of publicity for CBS? ?Kid Nation,? NBC?s ?Chuck? and The CW?s ?Reaper? went largely unheeded.
The only safe bet for breakout numbers seemed to be with returning hits, such as NBC?s ?Heroes? and Fox?s ?House.? Both ?Bionic? and ?Private? (the latter of which, had it aired on any other night, would have likely dominated headlines this morning) show that freshman premieres can still draw significant tune-in.