Fox’s freshman offering “Empire” continued to grow in the ratings Wednesday night, notching modest gains over last week to score the night’s top ratings and largest audience. It also led Fox to an overall win for the evening.
Meanwhile, CBS’s “The Mentalist” surged with its penultimate episode, according to preliminary numbers.
Fox took first place in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic with a 3.7 rating /12 share and in total viewers with 11.2 million. That was thanks largely to “Empire” at 9 p.m., which was the night’s highest-rated program with a 4.7/14 and also the most-watched with 11.9 million. Those numbers represent a 2 percent and 4 percent growth over last week, respectively.
“Empire” was preceded by “American Idol” at 8, which dipped 10 percent from last Wednesday to a 2.7/9 with 10.4 million total viewers.
ABC was second in ratings and third in total viewers with a 2.1/7 and 7 million. “The Middle” at 8 ticked down to a 2.1/7 with 7.9 million total viewers, while “The Goldbergs” at 8:30 held steady with its last original on Jan. 14, posting a 2.3/7 with 6.9 million total viewers. “Modern Family” at 9 had a 3.3/10 and drew 10 million total viewers. “Black-ish” at 9:30 climbed 16 percent from its last original episode on Jan. 14, notching a 2.2/6 with 6.9 million total viewers. The network’s night ended with “Nashville” at 10, which grew slightly to a 1.4/4 and had 5.2 million total viewers.
CBS took third in ratings and second in total viewers with a 1.6/5 and 8.9 million. “The Mentalist” at 8 jumped 25 percent as it heads toward the finish line, posting a 1.5/5 and drawing 9 million total viewers. “Criminal Minds” the following hour held steady with a 2.0/6 — though that ties a series low — and had 10 million total viewers. “Stalker” at 10 inched up 8 percent to a 1.4/4, with 7.6 million total viewers.
NBC, in fourth place in both ratings and total viewers with a 1.3/4 and 6.2 million, aired “Mysteries of Laura” at 8, which was up 10 percent for a 1.1/4 and 6 million. That was followed by “Law & Order: SVU,” which ticked up to a 1.4/4 with 6.2 million total viewers. “Chicago P.D.” at 10 also logged a 1.4/4, though that was down 13 percent from last week and tied a series low. “Chicago P.D.” drew 6.5 million total viewers.
Univision took fifth place for the night in ratings and total viewers with a 1.1/3 and 2.8 million.
Sixth-place CW (0.8/2, with 2.1 million total viewers) had its good news and bad news for the night. While “Arrow” at 8 was down 17 percent from last week with a 1.0/3 (the superhero offering had 2.6 million total viewers), “The 100” the following hour grew 20 percent for a 0.6/2 and had 1.6 million total viewers.
Telemundo was seventh in ratings and total viewers with a 0.6/2 and 1.4 million.