TV Ratings: Wednesday night repeat race favors CBS

'Criminal Minds' and 'CSI: NY' control the night for CBS

By Daniel Fienberg Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 12:28 PM

Joe Mantegna of 'Criminal Minds'

Credit: CBS

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, December 30, 2009.

All five networks loaded up on repeats for the penultimate night of 2009. Across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW, the only programming for the entire night was "Eastwick." So did "Eastwick" at least dominate the night? Ummm... No.

Among adults 18-49, CBS was in control with a 2.1 rating, beating the 1.4 rating for NBC in the coveted demographic. FOX and ABC tied for third with a 1.2 rating, with The CW in fifth with a 0.4 rating.

Overall, CBS coasted with an average of 9.23 million viewers across primetime to go with a 5.9 rating/10 share. ABC's 2.6/4 was well back in second, beating NBC's 2.4/4 and the 2.2/4 for FOX. The CW trailed with a 0.7/1.

[Since everything was in repeats except for "Eastwick," we're not going to keep repeating "repeat" over and over. Just assume the shows weren't new, eh?]

CBS started the night in first with a 3.7/6 for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried," which also took the hour in the demo with a 1.5 rating. ABC's "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown" and "The Middle" were second with a 2.9/5, beating NBC's two episodes of "The Office." FOX's "Glee" was a close fourth, leaving The CW to trail with a 0.8/1 for "One Tree Hill."

"Criminal Minds" had a 7.0/12 for CBS in the 9 p.m. hour, also doing a 2.4 rating in the key demo. ABC's "Modern Family" and "The Middle" averaged a 2.9/5 for second. NBC's "Office" episodes nipped the 2.3/4 for "Glee" on FOX. The CW stayed fifth with a 0.6/1 for "Gossip Girl."

At 10 p.m. CBS' "CSI: NY" had a 7.0/12 and a 2.3 demo rating for easy hourly wins. NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" took second, beating the 2.2/4 for "Eastwick."

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.