Fast National ratings for Wednesday, October 9, 2013.
With “Modern Family” delivering Wednesday’s best numbers among young viewers and “Criminal Minds” drawing the biggest audience, it was no surprise to see ABC and CBS battling for Wednesday’s ratings crowns.
It also wasn’t surprising to see NBC’s “Ironside” dip ever-closer to cancellation in its second week, nor to see ABC’s “Super Fun Night” take a rather large dip in its second airing.
Most of Wednesday’s TV offerings posted small declines, with “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” having one of the bigger drops and ABC’s “The Middle” serving as one of the exceptions with a small audience gain.
Meanwhile, the second season premiere of “Arrow” basically equalled its May finale in both viewers and in the key demo, giving a solid lead-in for “The Tomorrow People,” which retained well in its debut.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC and CBS both averaged a 2.3 rating for Wednesday night, edging out FOX’s 2.2 rating in the key demographic. NBC was fourth for the night with a 1.4 key demo rating, while The CW had a 0.9 key demo rating.
Overall, though, CBS was on top alone with 9.71 million viewers and a 6.2 rating/10 share for Wednesday night, beating ABC’s 4.6/8 and 7.23 million viewers. FOX was a close third with 7.14 million viewers and a 4.4/7, with NBC’s 3.7/6 and 5.61 million viewers good for fourth. The CW averaged a 1.6/3 and 2.51 million viewers for Wednesday.
[Univision got its ratings in early this morning and averaged 3.11 million viewers and a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 for Wednesday night.]
8 p.m. – “Survivor: Blood vs. Water” was down a little from last week with 9.46 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49, but still won the 8 p.m. hour for CBS. ABC was second in viewers and third in the key demo with “The Middle” and “Back in the Game.” FOX’s “The X Factor” averaged 6.62 million viewers for third and a 2.1 key demo rating for second, beating the 5.37 million viewers and 1.5 key demo rating for NBC’s “Revolution.” On The CW, “Arrow” averaged 2.68 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “Criminal Minds” kept CBS in first overall in the 9 p.m. hour with 10.9 million viewers, finishing second with a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC won the hour in the key demo and finished second overall with “Modern Family” and “Super Fun Night.” FOX finished third as “The X Factor” rose to 7.665 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating in its second hour, well ahead of the 6.24 million viewers and 1.6 key demo rating for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” which fell 20 percent from last week and has fallen nearly a full ratings point from its premiere. The CW’s “Tomorrow People” averaged 2.335 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating in its series premiere.
10 p.m. – “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” won the 10 p.m. hour with a low 8.78 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49, well ahead of the 5.86 million viewers and 1.7 key demo rating for ABC’s “Nashville.” NBC’s “Ironside” averaged 5.23 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating for the hour, coming in below “Arrow” among adults 18-34. [By fudging the numbers, NBC prefers to emphasize that the “Ironside” drop was the smallest in ratings points — not percentages — of any network show this fall, but that’s only true if you compare last week’s Finals, in which “Ironside” dropped from a 1.4 to a 1.3 to this morning’s Fast Nationals.]
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.