American audiences opted for ballroom dancing over Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

Early estimates indicate that the Cardinals-Tigers game was watched by around 14-15m viewers (final numbers that fully take into account viewing in different time zones are not yet available), averaging an approximately 11% share in the adults 18-49 demographic.

A 90-minute Dancing With The Stars, however, bested the game during its 8-9:30pm slot, averaging 20.5m viewers and a 14% 18-49 share. Help Me Help You followed that with 11m viewers and an 8% 18-49 share, and at 10pm Boston Legal maintained its lead-in numbers in terms of demo share but dropped to 10.6m viewers overall.

CBS opted for night-long re-runs. NCIS at 8 had 11.6m viewers and an 8% 18-49 share; The Unit at 9 had close to 10m viewers and a 7% 18-49 share; and at 10, Criminal Minds posted just over 9m viewers and an 8% 18-49 share.

A new Friday Night Lights didn't get NBC off to a good start on a crowded Tuesday evening; the show dropped week-on-week to 6.3m viewers, pulling a 7% share in 18-49. Re-runs of the two Law and Order spin-off franchises fared better, particularly Special Victims Unit at 10pm which narrowly beat ABC's original episode of Boston Legal.

The CW had a good evening overall. Gilmore Girls averaged 4.7m viewers and a 5% share in 18-49, a good performance especially given its Dancing competition. Veronica Mars hit season highs in the major demographics with 3.3m viewers and a 4% 18-49 share.

Tuesday nights and UK pickups