TV Ratings: Kennedy Center Honors broadcast helps CBS win Wednesday

Repeats of 'Modern Family' and 'Criminal Minds' also score

By Daniel Fienberg Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 11:59 AM

Dustin Hoffman and esteemed bystanders at the Kennedy Center Honors

Credit: CBS

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Fast National ratings for Wednesday, December 26, 2012.

CBS' broadcast of the 35th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony was up slightly from last year among young viewers and helped the network control Wednesday night in all measures.

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 1.5 rating, tops in the key demographic. NBC's 1.1 rating and the 1.0 rating for ABC followed. FOX had a 0.7 key demo rating, beating the 0.4 key demo rating for The CW.

Overall, CBS had an even larger margin of victory, averaging 8.28 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/9 share for Wednesday night, far ahead of NBC's 4.28 million viewers and 2.7/5. ABC was third with 3.87 million viewers and a 2.5/4. The CW finished fourth with 1.58 million viewers, edging out the 1.52 million viewers for FOX, as both networks did a 1.0/2 for Wednesday primetime.

8 p.m. - A repeat of "Criminal Minds" did Wednesday's biggest numbers with 8.535 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS.ABC's repeats of "The Middle" and "The Neighbors" averaged 4.43 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, beating the 3.21 million viewers and 0.9 key demo rating for repeats of "Whitney" and "Guys with Kids" on NBC. A repeat of "Arrow" averaged 1.89 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating on The CW, compared to the 1.75 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for FOX's two repeats of "Ben and Kate."

9 p.m. - The first hour of the Kennedy Center Honors averaged 7.72 million viewers to win the 9 p.m. hour, but only finished second with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" was second with 5.44 million viewers and tied for second with a 1.3 key demo rating. ABC won the hour in the key demo and was third overall with repeats of "Modern Family" (5.38 million and a 1.7 key demo) and "Suburgatory" (3.69 million and a 1.1 key demo). FOX's repeats of "Ben and Kate" averaged 1.3 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating, edging out the 1.27 million viewers and 0.4 key demo rating for The CW's "Supernatural" repeat.

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10 p.m. - The Kennedy Center Honors improved to 8.58 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the 10 p.m. hour for CBS. NBC's "Chicago Fire" repeat averaged 4.19 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, beating the 2.66 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for ABC's "Nashville" 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.