ABC debuted TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN last night at 9:00 pm after an original WIPEOUT. The show, which had been promoted relentlessly on the network the last few days, opened decently though not spectacularly with a 1.9 demo rating, just missing our 2.0 hit show cut-off for summer programs. Considering it premiered against the first hour of AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (2.9 demo rating) and MASTERCHEF (2.4), this is acceptable, especially factoring in it held most of its WIPEOUT lead-in (2.0).
Of course, the week two and three numbers for Take the Money will be the most telling: whether it shows any sign of growth (terrific), stays stable (fine), or declines as most new shows do (tough but not unexpected news).
Over at NBC, the third week of It's Worth What? wilted to a 1.2 rating, close to what the tired Minute to Win It is doing Wednesday at 8:00. The three-week track for It's Worth What?: 1.8...1.4...1.2. Not at all encouraging. Luckily for NBC, the soft lead-ins for America's Got Talent have not hurt the Tuesday and Wednesday editions of the summer juggernaut very much.
