Fox and CBS competed in a close race for first place in the Wednesday night ratings, with "X Factor" and "Criminal Minds" sharing the night's top numbers but CBS eking out an overall victory for the night, according to preliminary numbers.
Both "X Factor," on Fox from 8 to 9:30, and "Criminal Minds," on CBS at 9, drew a 3.4 rating/9 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, though "Criminal Minds" was easily the most-viewed program of the night with 12.7 million total viewers, compared to 10.6 million for "The X Factor."
CBS took the win thanks to strong performances from "Survivor" and "CSI," which took the third and fourth-place spots, respectively. "Survivor" at 8 drew a 3.1/9 in the demo with 10.7 million total viewers, while "CSI" at 10 surged 20 percent over last week, taking a 3.0/8 in the demo — its best showing since the second week of the season — and 12.1 million total viewers. Combined with "Criminal Minds," those numbers gave CBS an average 3.1/8 in the demo, narrowly besting Fox's 3.0/8 average. CBS was also the most-watched network of the night with an average 11.8 million total viewers.
Following "The X Factor," Fox ran "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," which pulled a 1.9/5 in the demo, and 5.2 million total viewers. Overall the network averaged 9.3 million total viewers over the night.
ABC's "Barbara Walters: 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" at 9:30 was down 28 percent compared to last year's telecast with a 2.3/6 in the demo and 8.3 million total viewers.
ABC ran ran repeats the rest of Wednesday night, and NBC ran repeats throughout the evening.
