Fast National ratings for Wednesday, November 14, 2012.
FOX has had a couple weeks of bad ratings news for “The X Factor,” but the beleaguered singing show got a decent bump on Wednesday, helping the network claim the night among young viewers, while CBS remained on top overall with “Criminal Minds” leading the way.
Among other ratings notables, NBC’s return of “Whitney” wasn’t strong, but it was better than recent performances from “Animal Practice,” while “Chicago Fire” dipped back to normal levels after last week’s “Voice”-aided bump.
In addition, it was another strong week for “Arrow” on The CW, while a big drop for “Suburgatory” may have ABC beginning to feel a bit concerned about its most valuable time period.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 2.9 rating for Wednesday night, topping CBS’ 2.7 rating in the key demographic. ABC was a close third with a 2.5 rating, followed by a big drop to NBC’s 1.5 key demo rating and then a smaller drop to the 1.1 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS won the night comfortably with a 6.9 rating/11 share and an estimated 10.97 million viewers on average. FOX and ABC both averaged a 5.0/8, but FOX averaged 8.09 million viewers, compared to the 7.73 million viewers for ABC. NBC was fourth with a 3.5/5 and 5.16 million viewers, while The CW averaged a 1.9/3 and 3.05 million viewers.
8 p.m. – “Survivor: Philippines” won the 8 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 9.98 million viewers and finished second with a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49, though both numbers were down a tiny bit from last week. FOX was second with 8.01 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.9 key demo rating for “The X Factor.” ABC was third with “The Middle” (8.74 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo) and “The Neighbors” (6.74 million and a 1.9 key demo). NBC was a distant fourth with the “Whitney” premiere (4.23 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo) and “Guys with Kids” (3.82 million and a 1.3 key demo). On The CW, “Arrow” improved to 3.8 million viewers, its biggest audience since the premiere, though the key demo rating of 1.2 was down a sliver from last week.
9 p.m. – “Criminal Minds” kept CBS in first for the 9 p.m. hour with 12.13 million viewers and finished second with a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second overall and first in the key demo with “Modern Family” (11.9 million and a 4.6 key demo) and the big drop to “Suburgatory” (7.22 million and a 2.4 key demo). FOX’s “The X Factor” averaged 8.16 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo rating in its second hour, beating “Suburgatory” in the 8:30 half-hour. NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” was far back in fourth with 5.73 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. The CW’s “Supernatural” averaged 2.3 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, steady with last week.
10 p.m. – “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” averaged 10.81 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating to win the 10 p.m. hour for CBS in both measures. ABC’s “Nashville” averaged 5.89 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating, both down from last week. NBC’s “Chicago Fire” averaged 5.72 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, which were both way down from last week, but up a tiny bit from the week before that.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.