Press release from The WB:

"YOUNG AMERICANS" DELIVERS THE WB'S 3RD HIGHEST MEN 18-34 RATING IN TIME PERIOD THIS SEASON & TOPS ALL COMPETITION IN FEMALE TEENS

BURBANK, CA (July 13, 2000) - The WB's YOUNG AMERICANS had a respectable debut as it delivered the network's third highest rating in the Wednesday, 9 p.m. time period this season among men 18-34, scoring a 1.7/6 to improve +55% in rating over the season-to-date average. The series, set at a New England boarding school, also ranked 1 in the 9:00 p.m. hour among female teens vs. all networks with a solid 3.2/14, scoring The WB's best delivery in that demographic since May sweeps.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FOR "YOUNG AMERICANS"

Young Americans built dramatically over its Dawson's Creek lead-in, jumping +44% in rating among households, gaining +30% among adults 18-34, improving +38% among women 18-34 and growing +42% in rating among men 18-34.

The new summer series achieved a 2.0/6 among adults 18-34, the best output in the time slot since May sweeps and up +25% in rating over the time period season-to-date average. The program also excelled among women 18-34 with a strong 2.2/7, equaling the best number in the time period since May.

Young Americans topped West Wing on NBC in the trend-setting demographics of Persons 12-34 (2.0/7) and females 12-34 (2.5/8) -securing the time period's best deliveries since the May sweeps.

The show maintained its household performance (2.3/4 HH rating/share)across both half hours, and maintained or gained from the first to the second half hour in nearly every demographic.

From "Excite News":

In other ratings news, the WB also had reason to smile this week, thanks to the Wednesday night premiere of its pretty-people-in-prep-school drama Young Americans. The Coke-sponsored Dawson's Creek spinoff got off to a promising start in its 9 p.m. slot, drawing 2.88 million viewers and nabbing a 1.3 rating and 4 share among adults 18-49. (A ratings point represents 1,008,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimate 100.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of turned-on TVs tuned to a particular show.)

The WB has ordered six episodes [Um, eight, actually. -- Liz] of the summer series, which revolves around former Dawson's character Will Krudsky (played Rodney Scott) and his experiences at the uppity Rawley Academy for rich kids. Its ratings nearly matched the WB's May Sweeps averages for the time slot.