Wednesday TV Ratings: American Idol Leads as NBC Struggles
The latest Wednesday night broadcast ratings, reported by the TV ratings site TVByTheNumbers, show Fox dominating the key adults 18-49 demographic and total viewership. American Idol led the evening with a 6.0 adults 18-49 rating (and a 16 share), drawing an estimated 18.63 million viewers. If historical adjustment patterns hold, that 6.0 figure could be nudged up by a tenth in final national tallies.
Across the networks, Fox clearly won the night in both the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo and overall audience size. CBS and ABC also posted solid numbers in several key timeslots, while NBC continued to face challenges—so much so that it was reportedly beaten by Univision among adults 18-49 and trailed substantially behind CBS and ABC in the same demo.
Below is a clear breakdown of the reported ratings and total viewers by timeslot and program. Figures are given as: adults 18-49 rating • share • total viewers (millions).
8:00 PM
FOX — American Idol (8–10 PM): 6.0 • 16 • 18.63 million
CBS — Survivor: One World (premiere): 3.0 • 8 • 10.70 million
ABC — The Middle: 2.5 • 7 • 8.05 million
NBC — Whitney: 1.6 • 5 • 4.46 million
CW — One Tree Hill: 0.7 • 2 • 1.36 million
8:30 PM
ABC — Suburgatory: 2.4 • 6 • 6.93 million
NBC — Are You There, Chelsea?: 1.4 • 4 • 3.49 million
9:00 PM
ABC — Modern Family: 4.7 • 12 • 11.22 million
CBS — Criminal Minds: 3.0 • 7 • 11.90 million
NBC — Rock Center: 1.7 • 4 • 5.85 million
CW — Remodeled: 0.2 • 1 • 0.50 million
9:30 PM
ABC — Happy Endings: 2.5 • 6 • 5.75 million
10:00 PM
CBS — CSI: 2.7 • 7 • 11.06 million
ABC — Revenge: 2.4 • 6 • 7.60 million
NBC — Law & Order: SVU: 1.7 • 4 • 5.85 million
Key Takeaways
American Idol remained the clear ratings leader for the evening, commanding a large audience and a strong share in the adults 18-49 demographic—still the primary metric advertisers monitor. Even when compared to last week’s one-hour Idol installment, the two-hour program held a similar demo performance and very high total viewers.
CBS enjoyed a productive night with steady performance from its procedural lineup. The Survivor premiere delivered respectable numbers in its timeslot, and both Criminal Minds and CSI maintained viewership in the double-digit millions.
ABC showed strength in prime-time comedy and drama. Modern Family posted one of the highest demo ratings outside of Idol, and Revenge rounded out the night with solid audience totals at 10 PM. Suburgatory and Happy Endings also performed consistently for the network in their respective half-hour slots.
NBC continued to lag behind its rivals across multiple hours. Both its comedies and newsmagazine programming posted lower adults 18-49 ratings and modest overall viewers compared with competing network offerings. The network’s struggle to compete in the key demo was notable, especially given reports that Univision outperformed NBC in adults 18-49 that night.
The CW maintained predictably small numbers, with One Tree Hill and Remodeled posting low demo ratings and much smaller total audiences than the major broadcast networks.
Overall, the night reinforced a familiar pattern: big tentpole entertainment like American Idol can still draw broad audiences and dominate demo ratings, while networks without a strong lead-in or high-profile series may continue to see pressure in both ratings and total viewership. Final national adjustments may slightly change some figures, but the relative standings among networks and most shows are unlikely to shift dramatically.