RATINGS RECAP: 11/17/10

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 9.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8
8:30 Better With You
Viewers: 7.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
9:00 Modern Family
Viewers: 12.1 million, 18-49 demo: 4.8
9:30 Cougar Town
Viewers: 7.1 million, 18-49 demo: 3.0
10:00 25 Years of Sexy: People's Sexiest Man Alive
Viewers: 4.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5

CBS
8:00 Survivor
Viewers: 12.0 million, 18-49 demo: 3.5
9:00 Criminal Minds
Viewers: 14.4 million, 18-49 demo: 3.8
10:00 The Defenders
Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9

NBC
8:00 Dateline NBC Special
Viewers: 6.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6
9:00 Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 7.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
10:00 Law & Order: Los Angeles
Viewers: 7.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9

FOX
8:00 Human Target
Viewers: 6.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
9:00 Hell's Kitchen
Viewers: 5.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6

ABC's comedy lineup was back after a week off for the CMA Awards and was mostly steady but down slightly from their last airings two weeks ago. The Middle continued its second season strength. It was down just a tenth in viewers and the demo. Given that result, new sitcom Better With You was disappointing as it was down six tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo. These numbers may not warrant a second season. Modern Family was down a tenth in viewers and even in the demo, remaining the standout while Cougar Town was down three tenths in viewers but even in the demo. Its retention remains very troublesome but still getting a 3 in the demo is probably good enough for ABC. Finally, the burning off The Whole Truth was preempted for a People magazine special which did not match the numbers of the Robin Roberts special two weeks ago. 

CBS took a hit last week against the CMAs but rebounded nicely, particularly from 8-10pm. Survivor was up seven tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo as it gets closer to the end of the Nicaragua edition. Criminal Minds followed and rebounded very nicely as it was up nearly two million viewers and seven tenths in the demo. This show may soar even higher when it does not have to compete with SVU starting in January. Given that rebound, The Defenders was quite disappointing. It rose a million viewers but just a tenth in the demo. CBS is not going to accept demos below a 2 during their Sun-Thurs programming and it seems likely that The Defenders could head to Friday after Medium ends its run. CBS can find a show that has better retention here.

NBC also took a hit last week against the CMAs and rebounded some. They made a last minute preemption of the burning off Undercovers with a Dateline special about Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement. It was not a huge success but well above the numbers Undercovers has been getting. Law & Order: SVU followed and was up half a million viewers and a tenth in the demo. It will likely be stronger when it moves to 10pm and no longer has to compete with Criminal Minds. Law & Order: Los Angeles followed and was up a million viewers and two tenths in the demo, matching its numbers from two weeks ago. It looks like SVU will be NBC's drama demo champ this week with a low 2.1.

FOX had the season premiere of last year's midseason show Human Target. Target launched to pretty soft numbers and with likely drops to come, a third season is highly unlikely. It built on viewers from last week's 8:00 edition of Hell's Kitchen but was not close to beating that show in the demo. A new Hell's Kitchen followed at 9pm and was even in viewers but down two tenths in the demo. It remains a solid performer for FOX.