RATINGS RECAP: 4/20/11

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 6.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9
8:30 Better With You
Viewers: 5.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6
9:00 Modern Family
Viewers: 9.9 million, 18-49 demo: 3.8
9:30 Cougar Town
Viewers: 6.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
10:00 Happy Endings
Viewers: 4.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
10:30 Happy Endings
Viewers: 3.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6

CBS
8:00 Survivor
Viewers: 11.0 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1
9:00 Criminal Minds (Repeat)
Viewers: 8.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9
10:00 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Viewers: 7.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7

NBC
8:00 Minute to Win It
Viewers: 3.1 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8
9:00 Minute to Win It (Repeat)
Viewers: 3.0 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8
10:00 Law & Order: SVU (Repeat)
Viewers: 5.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4

FOX
8:00 American Idol
Viewers: 22.5 million, 18-49 demo: 7.1
9:30 Breaking In
Viewers: 7.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5

ABC had mixed results with its three hour block of comedy. At 8pm, The Middle was up seven tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo from last week's lows but it remained well below its season average thanks to the 8pm doldrums and competition from American Idol. At 8:30pm, Better With You was up three tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo from last week's lows. A renewal still seems very unlikely though it will get a shot in the post-Dancing with the Stars slot on Monday. At 9pm, Modern Family was up three tenths in viewers and even in the demo as it remained the easy demo standout on the night. At 9:30pm, Cougar Town returned to its regular slot and was down three tenths in viewers and four tenths in the demo from its last airing in this slot on February 2. That last airing followed a repeat of Family so it appears the hiatus did no favors to this show which has a loyal but limited audience. The demo was a season low. At 10pm, ABC had back to back episodes of new sitcom Happy Endings. The 10pm episode was down 1.1 million viewers and half a demo point from last week's 10pm episode and the 10:30pm one was below that. ABC has given this show a ton of promotion but it doesn't appear to be catching on as the competition was very limited in the 10pm hour and it still saw big drops.

CBS started the night off with Survivor which was down a tenth in viewers and even in the demo. I've said it all spring, but this is quite an impressive performance given the competition and the 8pm hour troubles lately. It was followed by repeats of Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior which did fine - the repeat numbers for Suspect Behavior are strong enough to help its renewal chances as it beat a Law & Order: SVU repeat. NBC was barely on the map as usual. A new Minute to Win It was down two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo from last week. NBC has really given up on 8-10pm on this night.

FOX was all new with its regular lineup. At 8pm, American Idol was down half a million viewers and two tenths in the demo. These are season lows for Wednesday but still dominating. At 9:30pm, week three of Breaking In was down three tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo, posting better retention. It appears this show has already stabilized (at least with a powerful lead-in) and despite the poor retention out of Idol, it might earn a second season if these numbers stay steady in the next couple weeks. It managed to beat Cougar Town in both categories.