• The Washington Post, Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12 PM

Last week, NBC put an end to Fox's 28-week run as tops among 18-to-49-year-olds, a big boost for the net that has struggled of late. Fox had won that demo every week since the Super Bowl, with the help of "American Idol" last winter and spring, and shows like "Hell's Kitchen" and "So You Think You Can Dance" this summer.

"Kitchen" and "Dance" wrapped their seasons the previous week, making competition easier, but NBC also gained on the finale of reality show "America's Got Talent." That program was No. 1 among younger viewers, pulling an audience of nearly 14 million, its best number yet and one that made it the most-watched show on all broadcast networks since June.

A preseason NFL game on Sunday also helped the Peacock, with an audience of 9.2 million -- the largest for all nine preseason games aired so far. On cable, the first season finale of Lifetime's "Army Wives" drew 4.1 million viewers, the network's biggest audience ever for an original series.

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