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Broadcast Viewership Soars over Summer 2007

The broadcast nets will finish the summer up from last year in terms of ratings, with the Big Four up a total of 17 percent in total viewers, and up 10 percent in 18-49s, mostly thanks to NBC’s airing of the Beijing Olympics.

NBC is at a 3.1, up from a 1.9 last year, due to its Olympics coverage. ABC is also up, from a 1.6 to a 1.7, despite airing the summer’s biggest flop, High School Musical: Get in the Picture, writes Media Life.

Fox is down 9 percent, from a 2.3 to a 2.1, while CBS is down 16 percent, from a 1.9 to a 1.6.

In addition to the Olympics, other trends kept the summer ahead of last year’s pace. NBC’s America’s Got Talent performed well, finishing as the No. 1 show of the summer for the third straight year, and ABC’s Wipeout was a breakout hit, landing itself a top spot among 18-49s. Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance and CBS’s Big Brother have also done well among the demo.