"American Idol" continued its stabilization pattern after a rough start to the season, taking the night's top ratings spot and pushing Fox to an overall win, while Elisabeth Shue's debut on CBS's "CSI" gave the series a slight boost, according to preliminary numbers.
CBS' "Survivor," meanwhile, returned slightly down from last February's season premiere, dipping 6 percent in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
"American Idol" from 8 to 10 p.m., which constituted the network's primetime schedule Wednesday night, drew a 6.0 rating/16 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, nearly identical to last week's 6.0/17, and is projected to adjust to a 6.1 in final numbers. The show was also the most-watched by far Wednesday night, with 18.6 million total viewers.
CBS came in second in ratings and total viewership, with an average 2.9/8 in the demo and 11.2 million total viewers. The season premiere of "Survivor" at 8 saw a modest decline from last February's premiere, taking a 3.0/8 in the demo and 10.7 million total viewers. "Criminal Minds" the following hour was down slightly from last week for a 3.0/7 in the demo and 11.9 million total viewers. The night closed out with "CSI" at 10, which saw the debut of Shue on the series, had an 8 percent uptick in the demo, drawing a 2.7/7 with 11 million total viewers.
Third-place ABC averaged a 2.8/7 in the demo and 7.9 million total viewers for the night. "The Middle" at 8 drew a 2.5/7 in the demo and 8 million total viewers, while "Suburgatory" at 8:30 slipped to a series low of 2.4/6 in the demo with 6.9 million total viewers. "Modern Family" at 9 dropped 15 percent from last week, hitting a season low excluding Thanksgiving Eve, while "Happy Endings" at 9:30 dropped 14 percent to hit a season low. "Revenge" at 10 dipped slightly to tie its series low, posting a 2.4/6 in the demo and 7.6 million total viewers.
NBC, coming in fourth for the night with an average 1.3/3 in the demo and 4.3 million total viewers, ran "Whitney" at 8, which drew a 1.6/5 in the demo and 4.5 million total viewers, followed by "Are You There, Chelsea?" at 8:30, which dipped to a series low with a 1.4/4 in the demo and 3.5 million total viewers. "Rock Center With Brian Williams" was down 27 percent for a 0.8/2 in the demo and 3 million total viewers, while "Law & Order: SVU" at 10 dropped 15 percent to a series low of 1.7/4 in the demo and 5.8 million total viewers.
