TV Ratings: ‘Stalker’ premiere helps CBS top Wednesday as ‘Black-ish’ falls hard

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, October 1, 2014.

The series premiere of “Stalker” retained enough of its “Criminal Minds” lead-in to win its hour and help CBS top Wednesday night in all key measures.

There were a lot of drooping numbers on Wednesday night, with “Mysteries of Laura,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Chicago PD.” “Modern Family” and “The Middle” among shows posting big declines. 

No Wednesday drop was bigger, though, than ABC's “Black-ish” decline of 24 percent in the key demo. ABC, in contrast, prefers to emphasize that this was the strongest Week 2 retention for any post-“Modern Family” comedy since 2009, which is also true.

Essentially flat was FOX's “Red Band Society,” which makes it a Wednesday winner, if you don't look at how low the numbers are (or just concentrate on the 60+ percent DVR growth last week).

And speaking of numbers…

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.4 rating for Wednesday night, topping ABC's 2.2 rating in the key demographic. NBC was third with a 1.6 key demo rating, followed by FOX's 1.2 key demo rating. The CW did a 0.2 key demo rating for the night.

Overall, CBS had an easier time, averaging 10.03 million viewers and a 6.2 rating/10 share for Wednesday primetime, far ahead of the 7.79 million viewers and 5.1/9 for NBC. ABC was third with 6.995 million viewers and a 4.5/8, outdistancing the 3.59 million viewers and 2.3/4 for FOX. The CW averaged a 0.5/1 and 686,000 viewers.

8 p.m. – “Survivor: San Juan Del Sur” started primetime in first with 9.47 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. NBC's “The Mysteries of Laura” was second with 8.89 million viewers and continued to struggle among young viewers with a 1.4 key demo rating. ABC was third overall and second in the key demo with “The Middle” (7.05 million and a 1.9 key demo) and “The Goldbergs” (6.67 million and a 2.2 key demo). FOX's “Hell's Kitchen” tied for third with a 1.4 key demo rating and finished fourth with 3.84 million viewers. The CW's repeat of “Arrow” averaged 698,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – “Criminal Minds” dominated the 9 p.m. hour overall with 11.54 million viewers for its premiere, coming in second with a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second overall and first in the key demo with “Modern Family” (9.995 million and a 3.5 key demo) and “Black-ish” (7.96 million and a 2.5 key demo). “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” averaged 7.81 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating for third, way ahead of the 3.33 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for FOX's “Red Band Society.” The CW's “Arrow” repeat averaged 674,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – CBS won the 10 p.m. hour with 9.07 million viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 for “Stalker,” which basically Xeroxed the premiere ratings for “CSI” from last fall. NBC's “Chicago PD” dropped to 6.68 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, ahead of the 5.15 million viewers and 1.5 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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