TV Ratings: ‘Idol,’ ‘Breaking In’ hold Wednesday perches for FOX

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
“American Idol” did its “American Idol” thing for FOX on Wednesday night, dominating its 90-minute block across the board. Also holding its own was FOX’s “Breaking In,” which ended a post-premiere slide and was even slightly up this week.
In other ratings news, NBC got another solid sampling for “The Voice,” as Wednesday’s encore of Tuesday’s premiere won the 10 p.m. hour among young viewers.
For the night, FOX averaged a 5.8 rating among adults 18-49, tops in the key demographic and far ahead of second place CBS’ 2.3 rating. ABC and FOX both posted 1.8 ratings to beat the 0.7 rating for The CW.
Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 18.15 million viewers and a 10.3 rating/16 share, which wasn’t quite enough to double up the 5.6/9 and 9.16 million viewers for CBS. NBC averaged 5.77 million viewers and a 3.7/6, nipping ABC’s 3.3/5 and 5.21 million viewers. The CW was fifth with a 1.1/2 and 1.76 million viewers.
8 p.m. – The first hour of Carole King Night on “American Idol” averaged 21.075 million viewers and a 6.7 rating among adults 18-49, both up from the comparable hour last week. CBS’ “Survivor: Redemption Island” remained steady in second with 10.87 million viewers and a 3.0 demo rating. NBC was third overall (and fourth in the demo) with the 5.21 million viewers for an “Inside the Royal Wedding” special. ABC’s “The Middle” repeat and a new “Better with You” averaged just over 5 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49, as the latter comedy failed to get even a small bump from Monday’s post-“Dancing with the Stars” showcase. The CW’s repeat of last week’s “America’s Next Top Model” clip show was fifth with 1.19 million viewers.
9 p.m. – FOX stayed first for the 9 p.m. hour with “American Idol” (22.85 million and a 7.3 demo rating) and “Breaking In” (7.605 million and a 2.6 demo). [Note that “Breaking In” rose a tiny bit despite “Idol” falling in this half-hour compared to last week.] CBS was second with 9.14 million viewers and a 2.1 demo rating for a repeat of “Criminal Minds.” ABC held down second for the hour with a “Modern Family” repeat (6.02 million and a 2.0 demo) and a new “Cougar Town” (5.61 million and a 2.1 demo). NBC’s “The Voice” encore was fourth with 5.645 million viewers and a 2.0 demo rating. In its new time period, The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 2.32 million viewers and a 1.0 demo rating.
10 p.m. – CBS won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 7.47 million viewers for a repeat of “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” but finished third in the key demo. NBC’s “The Voice” repeat was second overall with 6.45 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.3 demo rating. ABC was third with a new “Happy Endings” (strong retention with a 5.22 million viewers and a 2.1 demo) and a “Modern Family” repeat (4.42 million and a 1.7 demo).
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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