• by Wayne Friedman , October 2, 2008

ABC put a lot of marketing effort into re-launching its Wednesday night block of dramas, and now its initial results are in: More launch is needed.

Two of the three shows were down double-digit percentages from their most recent outings, as well as from their respective premieres of a year ago. ABC's highly touted 9 p.m. "Private Practice" landed at a Nielsen preliminary 3.3 rating/8 share among 18-49 viewers--down 16% from its most recent outing last December, and way off its 5.1 September series premiere of a year ago.

ABC's 8 p.m. show "Pushing Daisies" could only reach a 2.0/6. That's down about 20% from its most recent 2.5 rating in December, and well off its 4.2 rating premiere a year ago.

The network's 10 p.m. show, "Dirty Sexy Money," was the only sliver of hope--up to a 2.5 rating from a 2.3 in December's recent original episode.

In the early part of the evening, ABC was taken out by Fox's "Bones," which won the 8 p.m. time slot with a 3.2 rating/9 share. After that, CBS took over: "Criminal Minds" won at 9 p.m. with a 3.8/10 and at 10 p.m. with "CSI: NY" at a 4.2/11.

ABC's "Practice" could only tie NBC's "America's Got Talent" for second with a 3.3/8. The positive for the network was that "Practice" easily won the 9 p.m. hour among 18- to-34-year-olds with a 3.5/10-- the best-rated show of the night among young viewers, which also helped the network win the night overall among 18-34ers.

In the bigger demo and more lucrative demographic, 18-49, CBS had a network-leading 3.4/9. ABC was a distant second at a 2.6/7.

NBC kept its "Knight Rider" treading water at a 2.4/7 at 8 p.m., about the same levels as a week ago. "Lipstick Jungle" moved under the 2.0 rating mark to register a lowly 1.9/5 at 10 p.m.--way out of the money in third place. Only with the help of "Talent" at 9 p.m. was NBC able to better Fox for the night with an average 2.5/7.

Fox had "Bones" as it lone highlight of the night, with two episodes of "'Til Death" at 9 p.m. coming in at a 1.7/4--the lowest results for a original show among six broadcast networks on Wednesday. That put Fox at a 2.4/7 on the night among 18-49 viewers.

CW offered up a steady and average performance for "America's Next Top Model"--a 2.1/7 among its key 18-34 viewers and a 1.8/5 among its 18-49 viewers. It ended up last among 18-34 viewers with a 1.6/5, and the same among 18-49 viewers.

Univision was a tick better than CW for the night, earning a 1.7/4 among 18-49 viewers, and a 1.8/5 among the 18-34 audience.