• by Wayne Friedman , April 18, 2012

Tuesday witnessed almost a dead heat among three networks -- Fox, NBC, and CBS -- for top honors among the key 18-49 viewers, with many shows losing ground versus their week-ago performances.

Fox and NBC offered up a preliminary statistical tie, a Nielsen 2.3 rating/7 share among 18-49 viewers with CBS just a tick behind at 2.2/6. ABC was at a 1.9/5; Univision, 1.5/4; and CW, 0.4/1.

Those scoring at home might give CBS a bigger win in terms of overall viewers: CBS had 12.4 million viewers, with ABC next at 8.7 million; NBC, 6.7 million; Fox, 5.4 million; Univision, 3.7 million; and CW, 959,000.

Tuesday shows seemed to be seeking the same level: NBC’s “The Voice” posted the best 18-49 results with a 3.3/9, down from a 3.5 the week before. CBS’ “NCIS” took second-best honors with a 3.0/9, down from a 3.1 the previous week.

In third place on the night, Fox had “New Girl” at a 2.7/7, also down one-tenth of a rating point. Fox’s earlier-evening show “Glee” gave up more ground -- three-tenths of a rating point to a 2.4/7. New NBC show at 10 p.m. “Fashion Star” was down three-tenths of a rating point to a 1.5/4. ABC’s “Private Practice” was down four-tenths of a rating point to a 1.7/5 -- the top-rated show for the 10 p.m. time period.

Three shows showed growth on the night: NBC’s 8 p.m. show “The Biggest Loser” rose to a 2.2/7, up a tenth of a rating point; ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars: Results” also added one tenth of a rating point to a 2.4/6 at 9 p.m; and CW’s series finale “Ringer” also picked up a tenth of a rating point to reach a 0.5/1.