Some 29.2 million total viewers tuned into the Big Three broadcast networks last night for special editions covering the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.
   All three of the newsmagazines won their timeslots among adults 18-49 in the 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. hours.
   NBC’s hourlong “Dateline” got the biggest tune-in at 9 p.m., averaging a 3.6 rating among viewers 18-49 and 11.79 million total viewers.
    That was the most-watched show of the night on broadcast, and a 53.5 percent increase in total viewers over the 7.68 million Wednesday episodes of “Dateline” averaged last season.
    ABC News’ 60-minute 10 p.m. special “In the Path of Katrina” averaged a 3.5 among 18-49s and 9.22 million total viewers, a 32.1 percent increase over “Primetime’s” 6.98 million viewers average last season.
    CBS’s Katrina-focused half hour “48 Hours” at 8 p.m. averaged a 2.5 rating among 18-49s and 8.2 million total viewers, finishing ahead of second-place Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” 
    The night was competitive, with CBS and NBC sharing the lead with a 2.5 rating and 7 share for the night. ABC and Fox tied for third at 2.4/7. UPN was fifth for at 1.0/3 and the WB sixth at 0.8/2.
    Fox led at 8 p.m. with a 2.4 average for the first hour of a 90-minute “So You Think You Can Dance.” CBS’s 2.1 average for “48 Hours” and a “Yes, Dear” repeat earned a second-place tie with ABC, which aired an hour of “George Lopez,” and NBC was fourth that hour with a 1.3 average for “Meet Mister Mom.”
    NBC took the lead at 9 p.m. with its 3.6 average for “Dateline.” CBS was second with a 2.8 average for “Rock Star: INXS” (2.7) and a repeat of “The King of Queens” (3.0) and Fox third with a 2.5 average for the last half hour of “Dance” (3.1) and a repeat of “Bernie Mac” (1.9).
    ABC led at 10 p.m. with a 3.5 average for its “In the Path of Katrina” special, followed by a 2.8 average for NBC for a repeat of “Law & Order.” CBS was third that hour with a 2.5 for a “CSI: NY” rerun.
    Among households, NBC led the night with a 5.8 average rating and a 10 share. CBS was second at 4.8/8, ABC third at 4.5/7, Fox fourth at 4.2/7, UPN fifth at 1.6/3 and the WB sixth at 1.3/2.