Fast National ratings for Wednesday, November 9, 2011.
ABC’s coverage of the 45th Annual CMA Awards was roughly on par with last year’s telecast and took a bit out of most of the Wednesday competition, including FOX’s “The X Factor” and CBS’ “Survivor” on the way to easy ratings wins in all key measures.
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 4.8 rating, tops in the key demographic. FOX was a solid second with a 3.7 rating, followed by CBS’ 3.0 rating. There was a big drop to NBC’s 1.5 rating and then to the 0.6 rating for The CW.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 16.32 million viewers in primetime to go with a 9.9 rating/15 share, far ahead of CBS’ 6.7/10 and 10.66 million viewers. FOX was third for the night with a 5.8/9 and 10.14 million viewers, with NBC a distant fourth with 5.95 million viewers and a 4.0/6. The CW posted a 0.9/1 and 1.31 million viewers.
8 p.m. – ABC’s CMA coverage swept primetime starting in the 8 p.m. hour with 16.79 million viewers and a 4.6 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “Survivor: South Pacific” took second overall with 10.6 million viewers and third in the key demo with a 3.1 rating. FOX’s “The X Factor” was third with 9.85 million viewers and second with a 3.5 key demo rating. There was a huge drop to NBC’s new “Up All Night” (4.79 million and a 1.8 key demo rating), the hour’s only program not to go down week-to-week against the CMAs, and an “Up All Night” repeat (3.51 million and a 1.2 key demo). The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” repeat averaged 983,000 viewers in fifth.
9 p.m. – The second hour of ABC’s CMAs telecast dropped to 16.58 million viewers, but rose to a 5.0 rating among adults 18-49, winning the 9 p.m. hour in both counts. CBS’ “Criminal Minds” averaged 11.31 million viewers in second and a 3.4 key demo rating in third for the hour. FOX’s “The X Factor” was up to 10.43 million viewers for third and a 3.9 key demo rating for second. NBC’s “Harry’s Law” averaged 7.05 million viewers and improved week-to-week with a 1.3 key demo rating. The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 1.65 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating in fifth.
10 p.m. – ABC wrapped up primetime with 15.59 million viewers and a 4.7 key demo rating for the 10 p.m. hour of the CMAs. CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” averaged 10.85 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating in second. That left NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in third with 6.64 million viewers and 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.