Gordon Ramsay's cooking competition "MasterChef" remained on a steady simmer from last week's premiere, giving Fox a ratings win for the night, while ABC's canceled "Family Tools" and "How to Live With Your Parents" couldn't generate heat on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, CBS's "American Baking Competition" led the network to a low in Wednesday premieres, according to preliminary numbers.
"MasterChef," which filled Fox's primetime menu on Wednesday, posted a 2.2 rating/7 share in the advertiser-preferred 18-49 demographic — even with last week's premiere — and had 5.4 million total viewers, enough to hand the network first place in the demo and third in total viewers.
NBC was second in ratings and first in total viewers with a 1.4/4 and 6.5 million. The network aired "Dateline" at 8 p.m., which was up 14 percent in the demo for a 1.6/5 and took 7.1 million total viewers. The special "Healing the Heartland: Oklahoma Benefit" the following hour drew a 1.9/6 with 8.6 million total viewers. A "Chicago Fire" repeat closed out the night.
Univision took third place in the demo with a 1.4/4 and fifth in total viewers with 3.5 million.
ABC was fourth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.1/3 and 4.1 million. Following a repeat of "The Middle," "Family Tools" at 8:30 drew a 1.0/3, a 17 percent drop from its last original episode two weeks ago, and had 3.6 million total viewers. After a "Modern Family" repeat, "How to Live With Your Parents" at 9:30 was down 38 percent to a series low of 1.3/4 with 4 million total viewers. The premiere of "Nightline: The Lookout" at 10 drew a 1.1/3, up 10 percent from last June's "Final Witness" premiere, and had 4 million total viewers.
CBS was fifth in ratings and second in total viewers with a 1.0/3 and 5.7 million. The network aired repeats aside from the series premiere of "American Baking Competition," which drew a 1.0/3 — a 23 percent decline from last May's "Dogs in the City" and a network low for a Wednesday series debut — and had 5 million total viewers.