Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 7, 2012.
The start of Top 13 performances gave “American Idol” a solid bump, letting FOX dominate Wednesday night in all measures.
It certainly didn’t hurt that three of ABC’s four comedies were in repeat, as CBS’ “Survivor” and NBC’s “Whitney” and “Are You There, Chelsea?” all rose as well, albeit less impressively than “Idol” did.
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 5.6 rating, easily tops in the key demographic. “Idol” came up just short of equalling the combined totals for CBS (2.2 rating), ABC (1.7 rating), NBC (1.2 rating) and The CW (0.6 rating).
Overall, FOX ruled with an average of 18.47 million viewers and a 10.8 rating/17 share for Wednesday primetime. CBS was a distant second with a 5.4/9 and 8.7 million viewers, with ABC’s 3.4/5 and 5.105 million viewers. NBC was fourth with a 2.5/4 and 3.72 million viewers, while The CW averaged 1.44 million viewers and a 1.0/2.
[Univision averaged 3.38 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 for Wednesday primetime.]
8 p.m. – “American Idol” started primetime in first with 17.64 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “Survivor: One World” improved to 10.625 million viewers and a 3.2 key demo rating. ABC’s repeats of “The Middle” and “Suburgatory” averaged 4.9 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating. NBC was fourth with new episodes of “Whitney” (4.32 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating) and “Are You There, Chelsea?” (3.67 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo). On The CW, “One Tree Hill” averaged 1.475 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of “American Idol” rose to 19.3 million viewers and a 5.9 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second overall with the 7.19 million viewers for a repeat of “Criminal Minds,” which finished third with a 1.6 key demo rating. ABC was third overall, but second in the key demo with a “Modern Family” repeat (6.145 million and a 2.4 key demo) and a new “Happy Endings” (4.53 million and a 2.0 key demo). NBC’s repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” was fourth with 3.59 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating. On The CW, “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 1.41 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – A “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” repeat averaged 8.3 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour for CBS. ABC’s “Revenge For Real” special averaged 5.07 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for second. NBC’s “Rock Center” averaged 3.56 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, which were both up from last week’s airing in the 9 p.m. hour.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.