Battlestar Galactica's third season opener was the most-watched show on cable in America on Friday night.

Preliminary numbers from Nielsen Media Research indicate that the episode averaged 2.2m viewers in total from 9pm-11pm, with 1.4m of those viewers in the adults 18-49 demographic.

However, the total viewers number is down from that achieved by the series' second season opener last year, which averaged 3.1m viewers.

Rumours are currently circulating that Sci Fi's parent company, NBC, is considering finding room on its schedule for Battlestar. However, those rumours are being officially denied by the network at this stage.