‘America’s Got Talent’ Premiere Wins in Summer Ratings with Over 6 Million Viewers
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America’s Got Talent Season 16 premiered last week on NBC, and it looks like viewers are ready to watch some amazing talent this summer. The show was reportedly a winner in the ratings.
This season’s premiere marked the return of judge Simon Cowell after his back injury last year. The judge had to miss the live shows last season while he recovered from back surgery. He also missed episodes of Britain’s Got Talent.
‘America’s Got Talent’ Premiere Wins in Ratings
According to the Los Angeles Times, America’s Got Talent was the top program during the first week of the primetime summer season. It was one of two shows to average over 6 million viewers, the other being 60 Minutes. The AGT premiere averaged 7.372 million viewers.
Last season, ratings seemed to be on the decline in Cowell’s absence from the judging table, as the COVID-19 pandemic still affected production. Now that Cowell is back and the show has an audience (albeit possibly not a live one), perhaps people are more interested in tuning in.
Even so, while this season’s premiere topped the ratings, it’s still down from last year’s season opener. Season 15 had 9.8 million viewers when it debuted last year. The show had started filming shortly before the pandemic began affecting TV production.
SEE ALSO: ESCAPE ARTIST MATT JOHNSON NEARLY SAWS HIMSELF IN HALF ON ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’
What Has Season 16 Been Like So Far?
We’re only two weeks into Season 16, but we’ve already seen some pretty memorable acts on AGT. During the premiere, Howie Mandel hit the Golden Buzzer for Northwell Health Nurse Choir, Sofia Vergara tried to crack a walnut with her butt, and the judges were impersonated by dogs.
In the second week of the competition, we saw a graceful group of unicyclists, an escape artist who had us on the edge of our seats, and a magician who made Cowell believe in magic.
Check out Talent Recap’s video summing up our favorite and least favorite acts from the season premiere. Have you been watching America’s Got Talent this season? Are you glad to see Cowell back at the judges’ table? Let us know in the comments below.
