Smallscreen News
ABC's Wipeout, NBC's America's Got Talent ratings smashers
By April MacIntyre Jul 9, 2008, 13:56 GMT
David Hasselhoff (L) \'You Don\'t Mess With the Zohan\' in Los Angeles, California USA 28 May 2008. \'Zohan\' (Adam Sandler) is the story of an Israeli commando who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream: becoming a hairstylist in New York. EPA/PAUL BUCK
America loves talent shows, as witnessed by the breakout ratings the NBC show
'America's Got Talent' which has earned consistently high ratings since it hit the air.
Perhaps America loves Piers, Sharon and David's off-beat but real chemistry as a trio of judges who gamely assess talented amateurs, with all-heart Jerry Springer serving as show host and behind-the-scenes pep talker.
ABC's 'Wipeout' is on its heels, and was the second most-watched prime-time show for the second consecutive week behind NBC's "America's Got Talent," despite a 5% drop in viewership from its premiere according to Nielsens Media Research.
The show "Wipeout" features 24 new contestants of all ages, shapes who go head to head through four rounds of grueling and hilarious obstacle courses to win the title of Wipeout Champion and the grand prize of $50,000.
The contestants and the courses change every week, with over-the-top obstacles including "Dizzy Dummy" the "Dirty Balls" and "The Dreadmill" - which features contestants jumping hurdles on a 40-foot long treadmill.
"Wipeout" is hosted by John Henson (E! Entertainment's "Talk Soup") and John Anderson (ESPN's SportsCenter). Jill Wagner is co-host.
"America's Got Talent" is the king currently and claimed the title of the most-watched program for the second consecutive week with 12.04 million viewers, according to figures released Tuesday.
CBS was the most-watched network (four out of seven shows) for the fifth time in the 6-week- old television summer season, averaging 6.25 million viewers for its prime-time programming.
Nielsens noted that Fox, third overall, finished first among viewers 18 to 49 for the third consecutive week
