MELROSE PLACE - THE CW LAUNCHES NEW SEASON -- OFF TO A DISAPPOINTING START

THE CW LAUNCHES NEW SEASON -- OFF TO A DISAPPOINTING START

The CW attempted to kick off its new season Tuesday night but fumbled embarrassingly in the end zone. The season premier of 90210 drew just 2.56 million viewers vs. 4.65 million for last year's debut of the sequel series. It performed even more poorly among the key 18-49 demo. 90210 was followed by the series premiere of Melrose Place , which failed to lift the struggling network out of last place. It drew just 2.27 million viewers. Once again the evening was dominated by a two-hour (three, if one includes an 8 00 p.m. repeat) edition of NBC's America's Got Talent , which averaged 11.7 million viewers, peaking in the 9 30 p.m. half hour with 12.15 million.

09/09/2009