CBS won Wednesday night with "Survivor: Nicaragua" and strong showings from "Criminal Minds" and freshman courtroom drama "The Defenders." ABC got slight a boost in its flagging numbers by replacing struggling legal show "The Whole Truth" with a primetime special on the Chilean mine rescue.
— ABC came in third with an average 2.7 rating/8 share in the key adults 18-49 demo. "Modern Family" was Wednesday's top show with a 4.7/13, up slightly from last week. "Cougar Town" was also up 7 percent with a 3.2/9. "The Middle" and new sitcom "Better With You" were both down. "Better With You" dropped 9 percent to 2.1/6, its lowest telecast to date. ABC aired a primetime special on the Chilean mine rescue in lieu of its worst-performing new show, "The Whole Truth" — "Miracle at the Mine" scored a 1.8/5, a 28 percent improvement on "Truth's" numbers from last week. Overall, ABC was up 7 percent from last week.
— CBS' victory came by way of a 3.2/9 average. "Survivor: Nicaragua" was the network's top show with a 3.7/11 average, down slightly from last week. "Criminal Minds" was flat with last week at 3.5/9. "The Defenders" was up 14 percent to 2.5/7.
— Fox finished a close second with a 3.1/9 average from 8-10 p.m thanks to a two-hour episode of "Hell's Kitchen."
— NBC's Wednesday night "Law & Order" lineup is hemorrhaging viewers. The network averaged 1.9/5 for a last place finish. NBC's ratings-challenged new spy show "Undercovers" was flat with last week at 1.5/4, but its Thursday night "Law & Order: SVU" was down 15 percent to 2.2/6. "Law & Order: LA" continued its decline after a huge debut Sept. 20. "LOLA" was down 21 percent to 1.9/6.