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"America's Got Talent" debuts to wide audience

Judges Howie Mandel, Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan, and host Nick Canon talk with reporters at the NBC Universal Summer Press Day on April 26, 2010 in Pasadena, Calif. Jason Merritt

(CBS) The "America's Got Talent" season premiere on Tuesday night saw a 21 percent boost in total viewers and a 17 percent increase over last year in the key adults 18-48 demographic.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the premiere of the summer season talent competition drew a 4.2 rating and averaged 15 million viewers. The second hour was the most-watched hour (16.6 million) on TV on Tuesday night.

The show with Howie Mandel, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne as judges, was followed by this season's NBC hit "The Voice, "which drew 14.4 million viewers for the last of the battle rounds. This is second only to its debut episode on April 26.

The two shows together made NBC the most-watched network on Tuesday night.

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