RATINGS RECAP: 9/28/11

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 8.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
8:30 Suburgatory
Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3
9:00 Modern Family
Viewers: 13.5 million, 18-49 demo: 5.7
9:30 Happy Endings
Viewers: 7.3 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1
10:00 Revenge
Viewers: 8.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7

CBS
8:00 Survivor
Viewers: 10.7 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2
9:00 Criminal Minds
Viewers: 12.6 million, 18-49 demo: 3.6
10:00 CSI
Viewers: 11.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1

NBC
8:00 Up All Night
Viewers: 5.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
8:30 Free Agents
Viewers: 3.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0
9:00 Harry's Law
Viewers: 7.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2
10:00 Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 7.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1

FOX
8:00 The X-Factor
Viewers: 11.9 million, 18-49 demo: 4.1

ABC had a solid showing on Wednesday night with strong numbers for a series premiere. But first at 8pm, The Middle was down a million viewers and four tenths in the demo from last week's one hour premiere. This is not a horrible drop considering last week was a series high. This show has become a very solid lead-off for ABC. At 8:30pm, the series premiere of Suburgatory had a great showing as it built substantially on The Middle, particularly the demo. This has been a fall of great comedy premieres and this was no exception. ABC may have finally found the perfect show for its 8:30pm slot. At 9pm, Modern Family was down a million viewers and four tenths in the demo from last week's one hour premiere and series high. It was still at a dominant 5.7 demo. At 9:30pm though, the season premiere of Happy Endings wasn't as strong. While a 3.1 demo is good, the erosion out of Modern Family was huge. ABC keeps trying to make this show a hit but it's not working especially if this is the high end of its potential numbers in this slot, which it likely is. At 10pm, Revenge was down an understandable 1.5 million viewers and six tenths in the demo from its series premiere last week. It had a much lower lead-in and performed pretty well. If it can stay around these numbers, it will be ABC's first hit in this slot in years.

Over on CBS, the ever steady Survivor was up two tenths in viewers and even in the demo. Criminal Minds was down 1.5 million viewers and half a demo point. That's a somewhat steep drop but last week's performance was abnormally high. This is a pretty steady number for Minds. At 10pm, CSI was down nine tenths in viewers and just a tenth in the demo for a very good 10pm showing. It easily won the timeslot and handily beat Law & Order: SVU in what many thought would be a close race this season. It looks like CBS made the right move for Wednesday at 10pm, but what about CSI's old timeslot on Thursdays at 9pm?

NBC continued to be in trouble though the 8pm slot remained decent where Up All Night was down eight tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo. By NBC standards and considering the 8pm slot, this isn't a bad performance. At 8:30pm, Free Agents was down eight tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo to a dismal 1.0. If NBC lets this last another week, they are out of their mind. Expect a cancellation announcement soon because this show is sinking fast. At 9pm, Harry's Law was up a tenth in viewers and even in the demo. There is clearly an audience for this show, but a very old one. Some think it may move back to Mondays at 10pm when NBC inevitably cancels The Playboy Club. At 10pm, Law & Order: SVU is showing its age in a big way as it was down half a million viewers and three tenths in the demo, actually dropping in viewers from Harry's Law (though it far exceeded it in the demo).

FOX's second week of The X-Factor was down six tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo, posting a good week-to-week hold. This show is nowhere near the hit that most thought it would be but FOX will certainly take a 4 demo on Wednesdays and Thursdays if these numbers can hold. It is a disappointment but only because the expectations were so high. If it was any show, these would be considered very good numbers.