TV Ratings: 'House' Finale Climbs, 'Dancing' Rises and 'Talent' Dips

Adam Taylor/Fox

Monday's ratings race, which saw the House finale and the season's penultimate Dancing With the Stars, was especially tight according to fast affiliate numbers -- though demo bragging rights go to NBC.

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The network scored a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 and 7.2 million viewers with the second week of America's Got Talent auditions. The two-hour episode was down from last week's premiere by sixth tenths of a point but still pulled the night's highest adults rating with a 3.1. American Ninja Warrior returned to the schedule after last summer's special, jumping 41 percent with its lead-in and earning a 2.4 rating in the demo.

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Dancing With the Stars saw gains during the first part of its finale, but was still at a low among finale performances. The abbreviated, hour-long broadcast was up two tenths of a point for a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49. The Bachelorette dipped two tenths of a point for a 2.4 in the demo, giving the network a 2.5 adults rating for the night a dominant 10.6 million viewers.

Fox aired the last episode of House following an hour-long retrospective. The eight-year-old series didn't approach its scores of previous seasons, or even its recent October opener, but it did continue its steady climb of recent weeks. It jumped 33 percent for a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49, its strongest performance since January. Fox averaged a 2.4 rating in the demo for the night and 7.4 million viewers.

CBS had sitcom reruns before its Clash of the Commercials special at 10 p.m. The broadcast pulled a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49, giving the network an overall score of a 1.5 in the demo for the night.

The late One Tree Hill was breifly revived in encores on the CW, giving the network a 0.2 adults rating for its two-hour block.