TV Ratings: ‘SVU’ is Wednesday’s most-watched show, but ABC, CBS lead night

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 29, 2015.

CBS saw across-the-board declines, but “Survivor” and “Criminal Minds” still helped the network rule Wednesday overall, while an up week for “The Middle” contributed to ABC's slim victory among young viewers.

Wednesday's positives included strong numbers for a “Chicago PD”/”Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” crossover on NBC and a small demo bounceback for  “American Idol” after last week's ugly numbers.

It was, in fact, a rare week with “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” as Wednesday's most-watched show.

Along with CBS' drops, Wednesday also saw a double-digit dip for “Arrow” on The CW.

Let's get to the numbers…

Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 1.9 rating for Wednesday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 1.7 key demo rating, followed closely by FOX's 1.6 key demo rating and the 1.5 key demo rating for NBC. The CW averaged a 0.8 key demo rating for the night. 

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 8.31 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/9 share for the Wednesday lead. FOX averaged 7.32 million viewers and a 4.5/8, compared to the 7.29 million viewers and 4.8/5 for NBC. ABC was third with 6.25 million viewers and a 4.0/7 for the night. The CW's 2.125 million viewers and 1.4/2 were good for fifth.

8 p.m. – “Survivor: Worlds Apart” led the 8 p.m. hour with 9.17 million viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's “American Idol” was second with 7.335 million viewers and third with a 1.6 key demo rating. ABC was second in the key demo and third overall with “The Middle” (7.31 million and a 2.0 key demo) and “The Goldbergs” (6.71 million and a 2.1 key demo). NBC's “Chicago Fire” encore averaged 4.61 million viewers to top the 2.4 million viewers for The CW's “Arrow,” while both shows did a 0.8 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – “Criminal Minds” was first overall in the 9 p.m. hour with 8.57 million viewers for CBS, finishing third with a 1.7 key demo rating. NBC's “Chicago PD” was second with 8.05 million viewers and also second with a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. FOX”s “American Idol” was third overall with 7.3 million viewers and fourth with a 1.5 key demo rating, compared to ABC's “Modern Family” (7.945 million and a 2.9 key demo) and “Black-ish” (6 million and a 2.0 key demo). The CW's “Supernatural” averaged 1.85 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” moved NBC into first for the 10 p.m. hour with 9.22 million viewers and also led with a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “CSI: Cyber” averaged 7.2 million viewers for second and a 1.2 key demo rating for third, compared to the 4.76 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for ABC's “Nashville.”

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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