Nielsens: America gets 'Talent' in a big way

?Talented. The season opener of NBC's America's Got Talent drew a robust 15.3 million viewers Tuesday, its third-biggest installment yet and 3 million ahead of last summer's opener. AGT also boosted The Voice, which followed, to a series-high 14.4 million.

• 

  USA TODAY

  America's Got Talent: Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel are the deciders.

USA TODAY

America's Got Talent: Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel are the deciders.

?Not so much. The premiere of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition was OK with 7.1 million viewers Monday. But NBC's summer burnoff Love Bites claimed a low 2.6 million Thursday.

?AgingMen. TNT's Men of a Certain Age returned with a below-average 1.8 million viewers on Wednesday, following the OK start of legal dramedy Franklin & Bash (2.7 million).

?More cable openers. History's Gettysburg (3.8 million Monday) and A&E's The Glades (3 million Sunday). Losers: Oxygen's World According to Paris (Hilton), with 409,000 Wednesday; Bravo's Million Dollar Decorators (781,000) and Lifetime's Love Handles (482,000, both Tuesday).

?Cable finales. E!'s Khloe & Lamar (2.5 million); A&E's Breakout Kings (2 million); ABC Family's Secret Life of the American Teenager (2.1 million); and Animal Planet's River Monsters (1.5 million, all Monday); Bravo's Real Housewives of OC (a series-high 2.9 million Sunday); TLC's Sister Wives (2.8 million Sunday).

?Sports beat. ABC's NBA Finals coverage is pacing well ahead of last year, averaging 15.3 million over three games; NBC's NHL Stanley Cup finals drew 4.1 million for its first two.

?No music here. The MTV Movie Awards Sunday claimed 4.5 million viewers, down a tick, surrounded by the finale of America's Best Dance Crew (2.6 million) and the opener of its latest scripted drama, Teen Wolf (a modest 2.2 million). Wednesday's sendoff of The Real World also drew 2.2 million.

Contributing: By Gary Levin

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-LifeTopStories/~3/zKikjhaZExQ/2011-06-09-nielsens-americas-got-talent_n.htm

Rachel Hunter Emma Watson Victoria Silvstedt Jennifer Morrison Monica Bellucci