Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
FOX’s “American Idol” got a solid bump for the season’s penultimate performance episode, took a bite out of ABC’s comedy audience and led the network to comfortable Wednesday wins.
Wednesday night also saw the two-hour “Criminal Minds” finale get a big bump for CBS and “Revenge” drop for ABC.
For the night, FOX averaged a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49, far ahead of CBS’ 2.7 rating and the 2.3 rating for ABC in the key demographic. NBC averaged a 1.3 rating, while The CW had a 0.4 rating in the key demo.
Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 17.29 million viewers and a 10.3 rating/17 share for Wednesday primetime. CBS was a solid second with 10.39 million viewers and a 6.5/11, leaving ABC’s 4.3/7 and 6.62 million viewers in third. NBC averaged a 3.1/5 and 4.53 million viewers and The CW averaged 949,000 and a 0.7/1.
[Univision averaged 3.765 million viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 for Wednesday night.]
8 p.m. – “American Idol” started primetime in first with 15.98 million viewers and a 4.4 rating among adults 18-49. Although they were down from last week, ABC’s finales for “The Middle” (6.49 million and a 1.9 key demo) and “Suburgatory” (5.42 million and a 1.8 key demo) were second for the hour. NBC’s “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” averaged 5.225 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating for third, topping the 4.24 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for CBS’ repeats of “Mike & Molly” and “Rules of Engagement.” The CW’s repeat of “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 798,000 viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of “American Idol” performances improved to 18.61 million viewers and a 5.2 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second for the hour with 12.63 million viewers and a 3.3 key demo rating for “Criminal Minds.” ABC was third with “Modern Family” (9.3 million viewers and a 3.9 key demo) and a big drop to “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” (4.84 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo). NBC’s repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” averaged only 2.84 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating. The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 1.1 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo.
10 p.m. – CBS closed primetime in first with a big 14.31 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49 for “Criminal Minds.” ABC’s “Revenge” was a distant second with 6.85 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating, still topping the 5.5 million viewers and 1.7 key demo for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.