Nellie Andreeva

There was an hour of entertainment programming last night, followed by coverage of the second Presidential debate. (Although, with its testiness, the debate did rival such reality staples as the Real Wives franchise in bickering and fighting.) Reliable ratings for the debate won’t be available until later today (check Deadline for updates), but judging by the fast nationals, it seems to have drawn overall audience/demos on par with the first debate, with NBC leading coverage by a wider margin this time due to its big lead-in from The Voice.

The Voice (4.6/13 in adults 18-49) was up two tenths from its fast national last week, leading NBC to another Tuesday demo victory. ABC’s Dancing With The Stars results (2.1/6) matched its fast national last week despite moving from 9 PM to 8 PM to accommodate the debate. Fox’s Raising Hope (1.7/5) was down one tenth but freshman Ben And Kate (1.2/3) stumbled, down 20%.

The CW launched its female-centric “doctor” Tuesday lineup against the presidential debate and baseball’s American League Championship Series on cable. The CW also counter-programmed against the first presidential debate with the season premiere of Supernatural, which did OK. Last night, the third episode of Hart Of Dixie at 8 PM (1.3 million viewers, 0.6/2 in 18-49) was up 11% in viewers and a tenth each in 18-49 and 18-34 from its season premiere two weeks ago. At 9 PM, the series debut of Emily Owens, MD averaged 1.7 million viewers and a 0.5/1 in 18-49. That was significantly below the debut in the time slot of Ringer (2.7 million, 1.2/3) with a slightly stronger lead-in (90210). Still, Emily Owens managed to build on its lead-in in total viewers, a rare feat for a new show these days. Like Ringer, it skews older as its 18-49 and 18-34 numbers were lower than those for Hart Of Dixie.

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