TV Ratings: Slipping 'American Idol' tops weak 'Survivor' premiere on Wednesday

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, February 13, 2013.

 

"American Idol" suffered another week of declines, but still had no trouble toppling a particularly weak premiere for the latest installment of "Survivor." The result was an easy Wednesday win for FOX in all key measures.

 

Rival networks want you to know this was the smallest audience for a Wednesday "Idol" since August of 2002 and it's lowest 18-49 Wednesday since July of that first season. Similarly, they want you to know that "Survivor" had its lowest premiere ever, off by nearly a quarter from each of its past two premieres among adults 18-49.

 

There were a handful of shows posting small gains on Wednesday, including "Suburgatory," "Nashville," "Chicago Fire" and The CW's "Arrow" and "Supernatural."

 

Among adults 18-49, FOX won Wednesday with a 4.3 rating, far ahead of ABC's 2.2 rating in the key demographic. CBS was third with a 2.1 rating, followed by NBC's 1.5 rating and The CW's 1.1 rating in the key demo.

 

Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 13.37 million viewers and a 7.9 rating/12 share for Wednesday primetime, with CBS coming in second with a 5.4/9 and 8.49 million viewers. ABC was third for the night night a 4.4/7 and 6.84 million viewers. NBC's 3.7/6 and 5.39 million viewers was fourth and The CW averaged a 1.7/3 and 2.87 million viewers for the night.

 

8 p.m. - "American Idol" averaged 12.17 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49 for the 8 p.m. hour, a steep drop from last week's comparable hour. CBS' "Survivor: Caramoan" premiere may have taken a bite out of "Idol," but it averaged only 8.94 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating in a distant second. ABC's "The Middle" (7.63 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo) and "The Neighbors" (5.91 million and a 1.7 key demo) were down from last week. ABC's "Arrow" grabbed fourth with 3.26 million viewers and tied for fourth with a 1.1 key demo rating, compared to NBC's "Whitney" (3.58 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo) and "Guys with Kids" (2.85 million and a 1.0 key demo). 

 

9 p.m. - The second hour of "American Idol" rebounded a bit to 14.57 million viewers and a 4.7 key demo, in line with the same hour last week. ABC moved up to second with "Modern Family" (10.03 million and a 3.8 key demo) and "Surburgatory" (6.07 million and a 2.2 key demo). CBS was third with "Survivor: Caramoan" (9 million and a 2.4 key demo) and a "Big Big Theory" repeat (5.83 million and a 1.6 key demo). On NBC, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" averaged nearly 6.3 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, up from last week. The CW's "Supernatural" averaged 2.47 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating.

 

10 p.m. - Even with a big drop from last week, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" still won the 10 p.m. hour for CBS with 9.13 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating, which could prove to be a series low. NBC's "Chicago Fire" averaged 6.65 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating, topping the 5.71 million viewers and 1.8 key demo rating for ABC's "Nashville."