PrimetimeRatings: ABC Wins Night as Obama/Boehner Speeches Alter Lineups

On a night when
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner had speeches that
interrupted the normal primetime lineup, ABC was able to eek out a win with an
overall 2.2 rating/6 rating in the 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen overnight
numbers. The Bachelorette, which ran from 8-10:30
p.m. (the two speeches occupied the 9-9:30
p.m. slot), was even with last week's 2.3. Extreme Makover: Weight
Loss Edition,
which didn't air until 10:30 p.m. drew a 1.8 during the 10:30-11 p.m. half-hour. The network's coverage of the
speeches drew a 2.4.

Fox came in second
with a 2.1/6. Hell's Kitchen, the only unaffected program of the night,
kept its premiere audience with another 2.5. The network's coverage of the
speeches drew a 1.9.

CBS (1.1), NBC
(1.0) ran no new programming, but their coverage of the speeches drew a 1.2 and
1.3, respectively.

The CW finished
the night with a 0.2/1.