Apparently NBC knew what it was doing when it decided to rush The Singing Bee to the airwaves in order to prevent Fox's similar Don't Forget the Lyrics! game show from debuting several months before Bee's originally-planned fall premiere.
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The Signing Bee's premiere delivered the best ratings of any summer television series on Tuesday night, scoring the highest ratings among both total viewers and the Adults 18-49 demographic of any summer series broadcast this summer, according to "Live Plus Same Day" data from Nielsen Media Research.
The Singing Bee's debut at 9:30PM ET attracted an average of 13.3 million total viewers, making it the most-watched new summer series premiere on any network since the June 2005 debut of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, which drew an average of 13.5 million total viewers. For NBC, the premiere ranked as the network's most-watched summer series premiere in at least 13 years.
In addition, The Singing Bee's premiere also scored a 5.1/14 rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic, giving it the highest Adults 18-49 rating of any new summer series premiere on any network since NBC's July 2002 debut of Meet My Folks, which delivered a 5.5/16 rating/share.
The Singing Bee also scored the highest Adults 18-49 debut ratings of any unscripted NBC series -- summer or not -- since the November 2003 premiere of Average Joe, which delivered a 5.8/15 rating/share.
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Overall, The Singing Bee's total viewers and Adults 18-49 numbers were the highest for any telecast on any network since Fox's May 29 broadcast of House's season finale.
Needless to say, NBC's The Singing Bee dominated its 9:30-10PM ET/PT time period among Adults 18-49, total viewer, and other key demographics.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio