Univision Tops Major Broadcasters in Demo for Second Straight Week

Univision emerged the primetime ratings leader last week in the key young-adult demo, riding its novelas to edge past NBC in a frame that saw lower-than-usual numbers across the board due to the holiday.

CBS rookie drama “Under the Dome” remained the week’s No. 1 program overall in its second outing despite declines. But nothing else has come along to really help the networks this summer as numerous new series have under-performed.

Overall for the July 1-7 sesh, often the lowest-rated of the calendar year, Univision won its second straight week in adults 18-49 with a 1.3 rating/5 share, according to Nielsen. It was followed by NBC (1.2/4), CBS (1.1/4), Fox (0.9/3) and ABC (0.8/3).

NBC narrowly led in adults 25-54 (1.6/5) while CBS prevailed in total viewers (5.1 million).

This is the third straight summer that Univision has logged at least one victory over its English-language counterparts. Putting the network over the top was Sunday’s “Copa Ora” (Gold Cup) soccer match between Mexico and Panama (1.5/5 in 18-49, 3.15 million viewers overall).

On the series side, Univision’s novelas won primetime’s opening two hours in adults 18-49 with “Porque El Amor Manda” (Because Love Rules) at 8 (averaging 1.5/5 in 18-49 and 3.7 million viewers overall) and “Amores Verdaderos” (True Love, pictured above) at 9 (averaging 1.7/5 in 18-49 and 4.2 million total viewers).

At the Big Four, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” was the week’s No. 1 reality show (2.4/7 in 18-49, 9.55m). The net also saw a solid season premiere for “American Ninja Warrior” on Monday (1.7/5, 5.04m), but it couldn’t do much for the new drama airing behind it, “Siberia” (1.1/3, 3.07m).

The Peacock again led Independence Day with its annual “Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular” (1.5/7 in 18-49, 7.18m).

At CBS, “Under the Dome” (2.9/8 in 18-49, 11.81 million viewers overall) declined 12% from its premiere but easily beat the combined demo deliveries of its two broadcast drama rivals.

“Big Brother” perked up on Sunday (2.1/7 in 18-49, 6.24m), and its editions on Tuesday (1.9/6 in 18-49, 5.63m) and Wednesday (1.7/7 in 18-49, 5.42m) also made the week’s top 10 in 18-49.

The quiet weeks at Fox and ABC were led by reality vets “So You Think You Can Dance” (1.5/5 in 18-49, 4.38m) and “The Bachelorette” (1.8/6, 6.34m), respectively.

USA won the week in cable in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, paced by “WWE Raw” (averaging 1.3/4 in 18-49, 3.96m for its three hours on Monday).

At TNT, “Rizzoli & Isles” (1.2/3 in 18-49, 5.90m) was down from its big season premiere of the previous week, but was cable’s No. 1 original scripted series in adults 25-54 (1.6/4). Net’s “Falling Skies” (1.2/4, 3.49m) was a close second (1.5/4).

BET claimed the week’s top two cable telecasts with Tuesday’s original movie “Being Mary Jane” (2.0/7 in 18-49, 4.01m) and comedy “The Game” (1.7/5 in 18-49, 3.59m).

Lifetime’s “Devious Maids” (0.9/2, 2.53m) grew for a second straight week following its modest premiere, building on its “Drop Dead Diva” lead-in (0.7/2, 2.16m) in all categories for the first time.

HBO’s “True Blood” (2.3/6, 4.14m) was second to “Under the Dome” among the week’s top scripted programs in 18-49, though it remains down a little more than 10% from its opening four episodes of last year.

Showtime’s “Dexter” (1.2/3, 2.52m) and “Ray Donovan” (0.6/1, 1.56m) were both up from their premieres of the previous week, with the latter off to the best start for any series to date on the network.

WEEK’S TOP PROGRAMS

Adults 18-49
1. Under the Dome (CBS), 2.9/8
2. America’s Got Talent-Tuesday (NBC), 2.4/7
3. True Blood (HBO), 2.3/6
4. Big Brother-Sunday (CBS), 2.1/7
5. Movie: Being Mary Jane (BET), 2.0/7
6. Big Brother-Tuesday (CBS), 1.9/6
7. The Bachelorette (ABC), 1.8/6
8. Big Brother-Wednesdsy (CBS), 1.7/7
8. Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta (VH1), 1.7/6
8. American Ninja Warrior (NBC), 1.7/5
8. Family Guy-r (Fox), 1.7/5
8. The Game (BET), 1.7/5
13. The Big Bang Theory-Monday (CBS), 1.6/5
14. Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (NBC), 1.5/7
14. So You Think You Can Dance (Fox), 1.5/5
14. American Dad (Fox), 1.5/4
17. Spring Cup Racing/Daytona (TNT), 1.4/6
17. The Simpsons (Fox), 1.4/5
17. The Big Bang Theory-Tuesday 10 p.m. (TBS), 1.4/4
20. Macy’s 4th of July… Spectacular-r (NBC), 1.3/6
20. Dateline-Friday (NBC), 1.3/5
20. Bob’s Burgers-r (Fox), 1.3/4

Total Viewers (in millions)
1. Under the Dome (CBS), 13.53
2. America’s Got Talent (NBC), 10.23
3. NCIS-r (CBS), 8.37
4. 60 Minutes Presents (CBS), 7.65
5. Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular (NBC), 7.18
6. The Bachelorette (ABC), 6.34
7. Big Brother-Sunday (CBS), 6.24
8. Rizzoli & Isles (TNT), 5.90
9. The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 5.83
10. Blue Bloods-r (CBS), 5.75
11. Sprint Cup Racing/Daytona (TNT), 5.66
12. Big Brother-Tuesday (CBS), 5.63
13. Dateline Classic-Friday (NBC), 5.54
14. Big Brother-Wednesday (CBS), 5.42
15. Macy’s 4th of July… Spectacular-r (NBC), 5.35
16. The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 5.17
17. America’s Got Talent-Wednesday (NBC), 5.11
18. American Ninja Warrior (NBC), 5.04
19. 2 Broke Girls-r (CBS), 5.01
20. Blue Bloods-r (CBS), 5.75

WEEK’S TOP NETWORKS
(in millions)

Total Viewers
CBS 5.09
NBC 4.65
ABC 3.33
UNI 3.31
USA 2.75
TNT 2.69
DIS 2.09
HIS 1.70
A&E 1.69

Adults 18-49
UNI 1.70
NBC 1.47 (1.2/4)
CBS 1.33 (1.1/4)
Fox 1.13 (0.9/3)
ABC 1.07 (0.8/3)
USA 0.93
TBS 0.84
TNT 0.83
TEL 0.90
ADSM 0.72

Adults 25-54
NBC 1.79 (1.5/5)
CBS 1.74 (1.5/4)
UNI 1.59
ABC 1.33 (1.1/3)
Fox 1.25 (1.1/3)
TNT 1.04
USA 0.96
TBS 0.82
A&E 0.79
TEL 0.77

Related stories

CBS Tucks Movie Ad Cash Under Its 'Dome'

CBS' 'Under the Dome' Dips But Still Dominates In Third Week

CBS, Time Warner Cable Talks Seen Extending for Several More Weeks

Get more from Variety.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter