TV Ratings: 'Criminal Minds,' 'CSI' repeats carry CBS on Wednesday

ABC's comedy repeats are good for second

By Daniel Fienberg Thursday, Dec 29, 2011 11:59 AM

Joe Mantegna of "Criminal Minds"

Credit: CBS

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Fast National ratings for Wednesday, December 28, 2011.

It wasn't an exciting Wednesday, ratings-wise, but CBS' three procedural repeats each claimed comfortable wins, as the network dominated the slow night in all measures.

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.1 rating, far ahead of ABC's 1.2 rating in the key demographic. FOX's 1.0 and the 0.8 rating for NBC followed, with The CW delivering a 0.4 rating in the key demo.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 9.80 million viewers and a 6.1 rating/10 share for Wednesday primetime. ABC was far back in second with a 2.6/4 and 4.03 million viewers, followed by NBC's 2.3/4 and 3.35 million and FOX's 1.5/3 and 2.53 million. The CW averaged a 0.8/1 and 1.21 million viewers for the night.

8 p.m. - With normal time period occupant "Survivor" between seasons, CBS filled the 8 p.m. hour with an "NCIS: Los Angeles" repeat and averaged 9.24 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's repeats of "The Middle" and "Suburgatory" finished second with 4.975 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating. NBC's repeats of "Up All Night" and "Whitney" averaged 3.09 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, edging out the 2.41 million and 0.8 key demo rating for FOX's "Raising Hope" repeats. The CW's Obscure Movie of the Night was "According to Greta," which averaged 1.245 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.

9 p.m. - The best numbers of the night were for CBS' "Criminal Minds" repeat, which averaged nearly 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49 in the 9 p.m. hour. ABC was far back with repeats of "Modern Family" (5.57 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo) and "Happy Endings" (3.45 million and a 1.2 key demo). NBC's "Harry's Law" repeat was third overall with 3.28 million viewers and fourth in the key demo with a 0.5 rating. FOX's two "New Girl" repeats averaged 2.66 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating. The CW's movie, which apparently stars Hilary Duff, averaged 1.18 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.

10 p.m. - CBS wrapped up its primetime sweep with 9.67 million viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 for "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" repeat drew 3.68 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating, beating the 2.6 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for ABC's "Revenge" repeat.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.