'Dance' leads in Wednesday debut

The Wednesday premiere of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” readily dominated the night with a positive ratings return.

The dance competition (9.3 million viewers, 3.6 preliminarily adults 18 to 49 and a 10 share) was up 3% from its Thursday premiere. “Dance” faced significantly higher competition last week, however, and gained more for its Wednesday debut last year. Still, the series has once again established itself as a summer frontrunner.

ABC offered an all-original lineup to place second with “Wife Swap” (5.8 million, 2.1/7) on par and “Supernanny” (6.6 million, 2.5/7) slightly higher than usual. The return of “Men in Trees” (5.3 million, 1.6/4) was average.

In third, CBS aired repeats (averaging 9 million, 2.0/6).

Fourth-place NBC had the third-game of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals (4.4 million, 1.9/5). The game was up a steep 46% from a comparable game last year, but could shift more than other programs in the nationals.

In fifth, the CW aired “Farmer Wants a Wife” (2.8 million, 1.0/3), garnering its best rating since its premiere.