TV Ratings: 'X Factor' finale tops Miss Universe as FOX wins Wednesday

'Chicago Fire' leads the 10 p.m. hour for NBC

By Daniel Fienberg Thursday, Dec 20, 2012 11:58 AM

Olivia Culpo is Miss Universe. Now you'll never need to know that again.

Credit: AP

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Fast National ratings for Wednesday, December 19. 2012.

The two-hour performance finale of "The X Factor" got only a small bump over last week's Wednesday show, but it still had no trouble beating NBC's Miss Universe Pageant and leading the night in all measures.

Note, if you care, that Miss Universe hit a four-year high in viewers and was up from last year among young viewers, though last year's show aired in September and from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, The CW got decent numbers for the telefilm "Noel," NBC's "Chicago Fire" had a good night and the numbers were dismal for CBS' annual "A How For The Holidays" special.

For the night, FOX averaged a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49, far ahead of the 1.8 rating for NBC and ABC's 1.5 rating in the key demographic. CBS' 1.1 key demo rating beat the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW.

Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 8.3 million viewers and a 5.0 rating/8 share for Wednesday primetime. NBC was second with a 4.1/7 and 6.27 million viewers, beating the 3.8/6 and 5.76 million viewers. ABC was fourth with 5.24 million viewers and a 3.5/6, with The CW averaging a 1.1/2 and 1.62 million viewers.

8 p.m. - "The X Factor" started primetime in first for FOX with 8.24 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49 in the 8 p.m. hour. NBC's Miss Universe was second with 5.52 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. CBS' "A Home For The Holidays" was third with nearly 5 million viewers and fourth wit a 0.9 key demo rating, compared to the 4.75 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating averaged by ABC's repeats of "The Middle" and "The Neighbors." The CW continued to get OK numbers with its holiday offerings, drawing nearly 1.7 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating for "Noel."

9 p.m. - The second hour of "The X Factor" was up to 8.35 million viewers and a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49. Also rising was NBC's Miss Universe, which averaged 6.73 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating in second. Again, CBS was third overall and fourth in the key demo with 6.455 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for a repeat of "Criminal Minds." ABC was fourth overall and third in the demo with a "Modern Family" repeat (5.75 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo) and "The Year with Katie Couric" (4.94 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo). On The CW, "Noel" averaged 1.54 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

10 p.m. - "Chicago Fire" spent a rare hour atop the heap with 6.56 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC. CBS' repeat of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" averaged 5.84 million viewers for second and a 1.1 key demo rating in third. "The Year with Katie Couric" was a close third with 5.63 million viewers and a close second with a 1.7 key demo rating.

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

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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.