Fast National ratings for Wednesday, October 2, 2013.
Week-to-week gains for “Survivor” helped CBS tie for the Wednesday night crown among young viewers and combined with “Criminal Minds” and “CSI” to give the network an easy overall win.
After several nights of positives, NBC had plenty of bad news on Wednesday, with “Ironside” premiering to a dismal 1.4 among young viewers, “Revolution” taking a big slide overall and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” failing to maintain last week’s renewed energy.
ABC, meanwhile, saw a moderate decline for “Back in the Game,” but got a good sampling for “Super Fun Night” and watched “Nashville” retain decently from last week’s return.
And as for FOX? “X Factor” was basically steady with last week — perhaps down a tick in the demo and up a hair overall — which continues to count as better-than-expected news.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC and CBS both averaged a 2.5 rating for Wednesday night, tops in the key demographic. FOX was a close third with a 2.4 rating, followed by a gap to NBC’s 1.6 key demo rating. The CW averaged a 0.5 key demo rating for Wednesday.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 10.2 million viewers and a 6.4 rating/10 share for Wednesday primetime, comfortably winning the night. FOX was second with 7.755 million viewers and a 4.8/8, edging out the 7.59 million viewers and 4.8/8 for ABC. NBC’s 4.1/7 and 6.34 million viewers finished fourth for the night. The CW averaged a 0.9/1 and 1.45 million viewers.
8 p.m. – “Survivor: Blood vs. Water” won the 8 p.m. hour for CBS with 10.05 million viewers and also won the hour with a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second for the hour overall and third in the key demo with “The Middle” (7.77 million and a 2.2 key demo rating) and “Back in the Game” (6.59 million and a 1.8 key demo). FOX’s “The X Factor” averaged 7.08 million viewers for third and a 2.3 key demo rating for second. NBC’s “Revolution” averaged 5.39 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, predictably a series low. The CW’s “Arrow” recap show averaged 1.75 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating ahead of next week’s premiere.
9 p.m. – “Criminal Minds” was down a hair from last week, but still won the hour with 11.01 million viewers and finished second with a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second with “Modern Family” (10.91 million and a 4.2 key demo, flat with its premiere) and “Super Fun Night” (8.21 million and a 3.2 key demo), which was in line with last year’s “Neighbors” launch. The second hour of “The X Factor” rose to 8.43 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating in third, easily beating the 6.83 million viewers and 2.0 key demo rating for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” On The CW, two repeats of “Whose Line Is It Anyway” averaged 1.16 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” won the 10 p.m. hour for CBS with 9.525 million viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49, rebounding after losing to an extended “SVU” last week. The premiere of “Ironside” averaged 6.81 million viewers for second and a 1.4 key demo rating for third. [Depending on who you listen to, that’s either up from last year’s “Chicago Fire” premiere in viewers and, thus, a triumph, or 26 percent below the “Chicago Fire” premiere in the key demo and also NBC’s lowest rated fall drama premiere ever.] ABC’s “Nashville” was third with 6.02 million viewers and second with a 1.9 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.