"American Idol" powered Fox to an easy win in ratings and total viewers on a Wednesday night when seven shows hit or tied series or season lows, according to preliminary numbers.
"Idol" and Fox averaged a 5.3 rating/15 share in the advertiser-treasured 18-49 demographic and 17.9 million total viewers during the top 12 finalists performance show that aired from 8-10 p.m.
CBS was second in ratings and total viewers, averaging a 2.8/8 and 11.1 million. "Survivor: One World" at 8 had a 2.9/9 and 10.3 million. "Criminal Minds" at 9 hit an all-time ratings low with a 2.8/7 -- down 10 percent from its last original episode two weeks ago -- and had 11.3 million total viewers. (Its numbers matched the network's overall numbers almost exactly.) "CSI" at 10 had a 2.7/8 and 11.5 million total viewers.
ABC was third in ratings and total viewers, averaging a 2.2/6 and 6.4 million. At 8, "The Middle" had a season low rating of 2.1/7, and 7 million total viewers. It was down 19 percent in the demo. At 8:30, "Suburgatory" hit a series low 2.1/6 and had 6.3 million total viewers. "Modern Family" at 9 had a 4.4/12 and 10.5 million. It was the second-highest-rated and fourth-most-watched show of the night, despite hitting its season low. At 9:30, "Happy Endings" had a 2.4/6 and 5.5 million. It was up 20 percent from last week's season low in the demo. At 10, the ABC News special "Revenge for Real" had a 1.2/3 and 4.5 million total viewers.
NBC was fourth in ratings and total viewers, averaging a paltry .8/2 and 2.9 million. It was handily beaten by Univision, which averaged a 1.4/4 rating and 3.4 million viewers across the night.
At 8, NBC's "Whitney" tied its series low of 1.4/5, and had 4 million total viewers. "Are You There, Chelsea?" at 8:30 had a series-low 1.0/3 and 2.9 million. A "Law & Order: SVU" rerun aired at 9. At 10, "Rock Center With Brian Williams" tied its series low .6/2 and had 2.6 million total viewers.
