TV Ratings: ‘Nashville’ tumbles, ‘Arrow’ holds and ‘Criminal Minds’ leads CBS Wednesday

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, October 17, 2012.

Although “Modern Family” reigned as Wednesday night’s top program in most key measures, big drops for “Suburgatory” and “Nashville” took some of the luster off of ABC’s numbers and helped CBS win the night.

Meanwhile, The CW got a good week-to-week holds (especially in its target demos) from “Arrow” and “Supernatural.”

[Due to last night’s FOX programming misadventures, there’s basically no point in trying to figure out who watched anything on FOX on Wednesday night.]

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.7 rating for Wednesday night, edging out ABC’s 2.6 rating in the key demographic. FOX averaged a 2.1 rating to top the 1.5 rating for NBC. The CW was competitive with a 1.1 key demo rating for the night.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 10.81 million viewers and a 6.9 rating/11 share for Wednesday primetime. ABC’s 5.1/8 and 8.01 million viewers followed in second. FOX’s 3.6/6 and 6.02 million viewers beat the 5.42 million viewers and 3.6/6 for NBC. The CW averaged a 1.7/3 and 2.83 million viewers.

8 p.m. – “Survivor: Philippines” started primetime in first for CBS, averaging 10.11 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49, capitalizing on the FOX chaos for week-to-week growth. ABC was second with “The Middle” (8.345 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo) and “The Neighbors” (6.5 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating), which both added a few viewers. Whatever FOX aired in the hour averaged 5.17 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating. NBC was fourth overall and fifth in the key demo with “Animal Practice” (3.8 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo) and “Guys with Kids” (4.29 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo). The CW’s “Arrow” dropped to 3.48 million viewers in its second airing, but remained steady with a 1.3 key demo rating, even rising slightly in a couple young male demos.

9 p.m. – “Criminal Minds” won the 9 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 11.775 million viewers and finished second with a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second overall and won the key demo with “Modern Family” (12.14 million viewers and a 4.6 key demo rating) and the return of “Suburgatory” (7.8 million and a 2.8 key demo rating). [Obviously that’s a big and problematic drop for “Suburgatory,” but ABC presumably hopes that as a returning show, it’ll remain more steady in upcoming weeks than a newer show might.] Whatever FOX aired for the hour averaged 6.87 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating in third. NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” averaged 6.31 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. On The CW, “Supernatural” averaged 2.185 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, like “Arrow” losing viewers, but remaining steady in the demo.

10 p.m. – CBS finished its overall primetime sweep with 10.56 million viewers for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” which also won the hour with a 2.4 key demo rating. ABC’s “Nashville” took a big drop in its second week with 6.75 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating (and it was down to 6.395 million and a 1.9 key demo in its second half-hour). NBC’s “Chicago Fire” averaged 5,91 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating in third, down from its premiere in both measures.