Ratings Chart Attack!

Only two of the Big Five networks averaged above a 1.0 rating last night, as a majority of broadcast hibernates while the Olympics roll on.

NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Games brought in an 8.3 rating/23 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers, down 10% from day 11 of the Athens Games in 2004. NBC finished the night first with an 8.3/23.

Through day 11, the Beijing Games are up 4% versus Athens in the 18-49 demo with a 9.6/28, and up 12% in total viewers with 29.2 million.

CBS placed second with repeats, pulling in a 2.0/5.

Fox took third with a 0.9/2.

ABC nabbed fourth with a 0.8/2. Its “High School Musical: Get in the Picture” (0.5/2) dipped a tenth of a rating point from last week.

The CW was fifth with a 0.5/1.

Swimmer Michael Phelps’ record eighth gold medal win on Saturday drew 40 million viewers around 11 p.m. Saturday as the Beijing Olympics rolled on to capture the weekend in the ratings.

Those 40 million viewers marked the largest NBC audience on a Saturday since 1990.

On Saturday, NBC ranked first with an 8.7 rating/24 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers. That’s up 12% from the Athens Games in 2004.

Fox placed second with a 1.3/5, CBS took third with a 1.2/4 and ABC nabbed fourth with a 0.9/3.

On Friday, NBC scored an 8.2/26, an increase of 8% from Athens. ABC and The CW tied for second with a 1.3/4. Fox’s pre-season football coverage of the Oakland Raiders and the Tennessee Titans pulled in a 1.2/4. CBS placed last with a 1.0/3. “Swingtown” (1.0/3) increased a tenth of a percentage point from last week.

The Olympics (8.4/24) slipped in prime time on Sunday, despite dominating the night. Against Athens, the Beijing Games were down 9%. Of course, that number could change once final numbers are released.

NBC placed first with an 8.4/24.

Second-place CBS ended the night with a 1.5/4. “Big Brother” increased 21%, as “Brother” shifted times due to PGA overrun last week.

ABC placed third with a 1.3/4, Fox ranked fourth with a 1.2/3 and The CW was last with a 0.3/1.

Through day 10, the Beijing Olympics are up 4% in the 18-49 demo compared with Athens, averaging a 9.6/28.

The Olympics dominated Thursday, but they were down for the night against the past two previous Games in the ratings.

Pulling in a 9.3 rating/27 share, the Olympics ruled again in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings. But, in comparison to the 2004 Athens Games and the 2000 Sydney Games, this year’s Games in Beijing were down for the first Thursday of the event.

For the first Thursday, Beijing is down 12% from Sydney and 17% against Athens.

The first Thursday in Athens was that Games’ highest-rated night, with several gold medals given out for gymnastics and swimming that day.

NBC finished Thursday in first place with a 9.3/27.

Everything else on the dial was about average for the summer, including CBS’ “Big Brother” (2.2/7) and “Flashpoint” (1.6/4). CBS placed second with a 1.8/5.

Fox took third with waterlogged pre-season football, with the game between the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles netting a 1.2/4. The game started an hour late due to heavy rains and thunderstorms. Fox landed third with a 1.3/4.

ABC took fourth with repeats, scoring a 1.0/3, while The CW was fifth with a 0.6/2.

The Olympics roll on for NBC, as the five-day average stands 13% above the 2004 Athens Games in the ratings.

Racking up a 11.1 rating/30 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers, the Beijing Olympics are outpacing the Athens Games in both demos and total viewers (by 21%).

Day five of the Games was up 6% over the Athens Games, but it’s down 3% compared with Sydney in 2000. However, due to the nature of fast nationals, that number could change.

NBC finished the night in first with an 11.1/30.

Despite the massive Olympics numbers, second-place CBS aired “Big Brother” (2.4/6) to little erosion week-to-week. In fact, with 6.51 million total viewers, “Brother” hit a season high for a Tuesday episode.

CBS ended Tuesday night with a 1.6/4.

Third-place ABC, with a 1.5/4, launched the time-period premiere of “Wanna Bet?” (1.4/4), which increased 27% versus its previous time-period average on Mondays. “Primetime: Medical Mysteries” also pulled in a 1.4/4.

Fox placed fourth with a 1.2/3 and The CW was fifth with a 0.4/1.

The Olympics so far haven’t shaved too much off of ESPN’s preseason football games in the ratings. Monday’s Cincinnati Bengals/Green Bay Packers matchup wasn’t far off from Thursday’s pre-Games Saints/Cardinals game.

“Monday Night Football” garnered a 1.6 rating/5 share in the 18- to 49-year-old age group, an increase of one-tenth of a ratings point from Thursday.

Year-to-year, the telecast dipped 11% from a matchup between the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers.

TNT’s “The Closer” declined 28% week-to-week, but it topped the night in women 18-49 (1.9/5) and total viewers with 6.4 million.

MTV musical “The American Mall” (0.1/0) debuted Monday to a slight blip on the radar, in comparison to what Disney’s “Camp Rock” pulled in back in June.

“Mall’s” highest take was a 0.7/2 in 12- to 17-year-olds, which tied a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model” earlier in the night on MTV. “Rock’s” numbers in that demo were an 8.7/36.

The Summer Olympics continued its winning trend as day four of the Games ruled against repeats.

Day four of events, including swimming and men’s gymnastics, drew a 10.2 rating/ 27 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen research.

The Beijing Games, through day four, are up 15% from the Athens Games in 2004. NBC averaged a 10.2/27 for Monday night.

Second-place CBS aired repeats, and took home a 1.9/5.

In third, ABC had “High School Musical: Get in the Picture” (0.8/2) and the season finale of “The Mole” (1.2/3), both flat from last week. ABC ended the night with a 1.0/3.

Fox took fourth with a 0.9/3, and The CW was fifth with a 0.4/1.

The Summer Olympics dominated the weekend’s ratings, as the Beijing Games are on pace to become one of the most watched Games ever.

Friday’s Opening Ceremony on NBC averaged a 10.3 rating/32 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers.

The Opening Ceremony increased 27% over Athens’ Opening Ceremony in 2004, but remains second to Atlanta’s in 1996.

As unsurprising as it is, the Olympics are going to be the major story all week, as the Beijing Games are up 14% compared with the first weekend of the Athens Games in the 18-49 demo. The high-water mark of Atlanta is going to be Beijing’s true test.

On Friday, the rest of the nets combined were beaten by NBC by 134% as The CW (1.2/4) took second, CBS (1.1/3) and ABC (1.1/4) tied for third and Fox placed fifth with a 1.0/3.

Saturday was more of the same, as NBC took first with a 7.3/25 as swimmer Michael Phelps made his first run at gold at this year’s Games. Fox was second with a 1.3/5, CBS took third with a 1.1/4 and ABC placed last with a 0.9/3.

On Sunday, NBC averaged an 11.0/30, securing a first-place victory. The only other original programming on last night was “Big Brother” on CBS. According to Nielsen, the reality show drew a 1.5/4, but golf overrun will affect fast national numbers.

Metered markets for Sunday show the Olympics up 16% in households versus 2004 to the highest first Sunday since Barcelona in 1992.

CBS nabbed second with a 1.3/4, ABC took third with a 1.1/3, Fox placed fourth with a 1.0/3 and The CW was fifth with a 0.3/1.

Fox boogied in the ratings with the season finale of “So You Think You Can Dance,” besting the night’s second highest rated show by 26%.

“Dance” pulled in a 3.4 rating/11 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers.

Down from last year’s finale by 8%, “Dance” increased 17% over last week’s hourlong episode. Fox ended the night first with a 3.4/11.

A special “America’s Got Talent” (2.7/8) on NBC dipped 21% from its Tuesday average to deliver its lowest number of the summer. “Last Comic Standing” (2.0/7) ended its run about par for the season, but down 31% from last year’s finale, which aired in mid-September.

NBC took second with a 2.3/7.

CBS’ “Big Brother” (2.1/7) slid 9% from its time-period premiere last week, while “Flashpoint” (2.1/6) increased 11%. CBS placed third with a 1.9/6.

ABC’s “Hopkins” finale (1.7/5) landed near its previous season average.

ABC grabbed fourth with a 1.4/4, and The CW was fifth with a 0.7/2.

A special reunion episode of “Baby Borrowers” bumbled in the ratings, falling off from its summer average by more than half.

NBC’s “Borrowers” grasped a 1.2 rating/3 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen research. The show slipped 43% from last week and 52% from the show’s previous summer average.

NBC ended the night fourth with a 1.2/4.

Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” (3.0/10) is finishing its run, airing the first part of its season finale. “Dance” stayed flat from last week, but helped Fox handily beat second-place CBS by 76%. Fox led the night with a 3.0/10.

CBS’ time-slot shift of “Greatest American Dog” (1.5/5) isn’t causing anyone to sit up and beg, as the numbers remained the same from last week’s lackluster time-period premiere. Second-place CBS pulled in a 1.7/5.

ABC took third with a 1.4/5, with repeats and a special “Primetime: China Inside Out” (1.5/5).

The CW brought up the rear with a 0.4/1.

“I Survived a Japanese Game Show” sank to new lows in its finale Tuesday, and not just in its stunts.

“Japanese Game Show’s” two-hour finale grabbed a 1.8 rating/5 share in the 18- to 49-year-old age group, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers. Yesterday’s show slipped 22% from last week and was off 28% from its season average to date.

Companion show “Wipeout” (2.8/9) fell below the 3.0 mark for the first time last night, declining 22%.

ABC finished the night in second place with a 2.1/6.

With ABC’s decline, NBC pulled out a victory for the night, its first Tuesday win since Jan. 8. NBC ran “Biggest Loser” and “Law & Order: SVU” on Jan. 8 during that sliver of airtime in January before the “American Idol” tank started rolling.

“America’s Got Talent” (3.5/10) was around par. NBC ended the night with a 2.8/8.

Fox and CBS tied for third with a 1.9/6. CBS’ “Big Brother” (2.4/7) increased two-tenths of a ratings point from last week.

The CW brought up the rear with a 0.4/1.