The CWTwilight and True Blood have company. The CW just may have a lifeline.
How big was The Vampire Diaries' debut? And did the magic rub off on Supernatural's fifth-season opener?
Let's sink our teeth into last night's key TV ratings:
• The Vampire Diaries, 4.8 million viewers: Fanggirls deliver again. The series premiere doubled the combined audience of 90210 and Melrose Place. It lured more young women than America's Next Top Model. It pumped at least a pint of blood into the CW, which proclaimed it its most-watched launch.
• Supernatural, 3.4 million viewers: Maybe demons and vampires don't get along? Airing right after Vampire Diaries, the veteran series blew quite a bit of its lead-in and lost about 600,000 of its own fans from last season's opener.
• NFL Opening Kickoff, 17.8 million viewers (8-11 p.m. ET): With all due respect to fanggirls, pro football is the premiere prime-time power. It can even make NBC look huge.
• Big Brother, 7.6 million viewers: Up about 1 million voyeurs from last week. Yup, the finale is a-nearing.