While NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage once again proved victorious, CBS hit a milestone of its own on Wednesday: In the 9 p.m. hour, “Criminal Minds” brought in more viewers than “American Idol” for the first time ever.
“Criminal Minds” pulled in 9.91 million viewers, the second hour of “Idol” got 9.84 million; the two shows have been facing off since “Minds” premiered during the 2005-2006 season.
Within the same block, at 9:30, ABC’s “Super Fun Night” dropped 31 percent to a new low, with a 0.9 rating in the key demo. To be fair, not only did the show have stiff competition to contend with, it also had a rerun leading in.
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NBC was first in ratings with a 5.0 rating/15 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and first in viewers with an average of 20.1 million, according to preliminary numbers. The Olympics coverage was the only telecast on the network’s schedule.
Fox was second in ratings with a 2.6/8 and in viewers with 9.9 million. A two-hour “Idol,” starting at 8 p.m., was the only show on its primetime schedule. “American Idol” dropped 24 percent from last week to a new Wednesday low.
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CBS was third in ratings with a 1.8/5 and in viewers with 8.4 million. Following a rerun, “Criminal Minds” at 9 earned a 2.4/7 and 9.9 million viewers. “CSI” at 10 received a 2.0/6 and 9.6 million viewers.
Univision was fourth in ratings with a 1.2/4 and in viewers with 3.1 million.
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ABC was fifth in ratings with a 0.8/2 and in total viewers with 2.9 million. Sandwiched in between reruns, the “Super Fun Night” season finale got a 0.9/3 and 2.7 million viewers.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.4/1 and one million viewers.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in total viewers with 888,000, airing repeats.