Fox won Wednesday night on the strength of "American Idol" as ABC's "Family Tools" had the network's lowest-rated comedy premiere ever. CBS, meanwhile, was second in the key demographic despite hitting three series lows.
Fox, running "Idol" across primetime, won in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo with a 2.8 rating/8 share and total viewers with 11.1 million. Nevertheless, "Idol" hit a Wednesday low in the demo. It was was down 13 percent in the 18-49 ratings, coming in second to "Modern Family." It was tops in total viewers, despite being down 9 percent.
CBS was second in the demo with a 2.2/6 and total viewers with 9.4 million. At 8, "Survivor: Caramoan" had a 2.3/7 — down 21 percent to a series low — and 9.1 million. "Criminal Minds" and "CSI" also hit series lows. At 9, "Criminal Minds" had a 2.3/7 — down 21 percent from its last original — and 10 million total viewers. At 10, "CSI" had a 1.8/5 and 9.3 million.
ABC was third in the demo and in total viewers with a 2.1/6 and 6.6 million. "The Middle" at 8 drew even with its last original with a 2.0/7, and had 7.3 million total viewers. "Family Tools" at 8:30 posted a 1.5/4 — as mentioned, a network low for ABC comedy debuts — and had a 12 percent drop from the last original airing in the timeslot, a "Suburgatory" episode on April 17. "Family Tools" took 5.8 million total viewers.
"Modern Family" at 9 was the night's top-rated show with a 3.5/10, which was nonetheless a 12 percent drop from its last original three weeks ago, and took 9.5 million total viewers. The freshman comedy "How to Live With Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)" at 9:30 benefited from an original "Modern Family" original as a lead-in, jumping 47 percent to a 2.2/6 with 6.2 million total viewers. "Nashville" at 10 was down slightly for a 1.7/5 and took 5.3 million total viewers.
NBC was fourth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.6/5 and 5.9 million. The special "The Voice: The Road to the Live Show" at 8 posted a 1.6/5 and took 5.6 million total viewers. "Law & Order: SVU" the following hour slid 21 percent to a 1.5/4 and had 5.8 million total viewers. "Chicago Fire" at 10 returned after four weeks to a minor ratings boost, posting a 1.7/5 and taking 6.4 million total viewers.
