TV Ratings: CBS and FOX split a low-rated Wednesday

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

On a night impacted by both Halloween and the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy, most Wednesday shows were down in the ratings. FOX won a narrow victory among young adult viewers, while CBS was the night's most-watched network.

For the night, FOX averaged a 2.6 rating among viewers 18-49, and 7.37 million viewers overall. CBS averaged a 2.5 in the demo and 10.88 million viewers, followed by ABC (2.4, 7.01 million), NBC (1.5, 5.13 million) and the CW (1.0, 2.73 million).

(Note that in the two hours when FOX and CBS went head-to-head, CBS actually won in the demo, 2.7 to FOX's 2.6.)

8 p.m. -- CBS' "Survivor" and the first hour of "The X Factor" tied in the demo with a 2.4 rating, but "Survivor" had 9.8 million viewers to only 6.92 million for "X Factor." ABC's holiday perennial "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (2.7, 7.94 million) actually did the best of any show in the hour among adults 18-49, but ABC's average was dragged down by "The Neighbors" (1.8, 5.75 million). At a late enough hour that most DVRs didn't register the change, NBC randomly scheduled an episode of "30 Rock" (1.2, 3.58 million) at 8 in place of "Animal Practice," and while the show's demo rating was unchanged, it was actually the most-watched "30 Rock" of the season; "Guys With Kids" did a 1.4 in the demo and 3.81 million viewers. The CW's "Arrow" (1.0, 3.35 million) was fifth.

9 p.m. -- ABC's "Modern Family"/"Suburgatory" combo (3.3, 8.4 million) continues to win the hour in the demo, though "Suburgatory" was down more than 40 percent from its lead-in. CBS' "Criminal Minds" (2.9, 11.99 million) was the most-watched show of the hour. More "X Factor" (2.8, 7.83 million) was third, followed by NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" (1.7, 6.23 million) and a high-ish "Supernatural on the CW (0.9, 2.11 million).

10 p.m. -- CBS' "CSI" (2.3, 10.84 million) easily won the hour in both measures, followed by ABC's "Nashville" (1.8, 5.79 million) and NBC's "Chicago Fire" (1.5, 5.47 million).