RATINGS RECAP: 10/2/13

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 8.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
8:30 Back in the Game
Viewers: 6.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9
9:00 Modern Family
Viewers: 11.1 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2
9:30 Super Fun Night
Viewers: 8.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2
10:00 Nashville
Viewers: 6.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9

CBS
8:00 Survivor
Viewers: 10.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
9:00 Criminal Minds
Viewers: 11.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
10:00 CSI
Viewers: 9.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1 

NBC
8:00 Revolution
Viewers: 5.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6
9:00 Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 6.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0
10:00 Ironside
Viewers: 6.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3 

FOX
8:00 The X Factor
Viewers: 7.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4

Wednesday night had lots going on including two series premieres. First up, The Middle was down nine tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo from last week's season premiere while Back in the Game was down 1.3 million viewers and three tenths in the demo. So far, retention is OK but not great for Game but it's probably in a better positions considering the Tuesday comedies dropped like a rock. At 9pm, Modern Family was down just six tenths in viewers but even in the demo which is great after lackluster premiere numbers (by Modern Family standards). At 9:30pm, the series premiere of Super Fun Night had a good showing with a strong 3.2 demo. It had better retention out of Modern Family than The Neighbors last September or How to Live with Your Parents last April. This is a surprisingly potent start for a show that was so critically maligned but we'll see how next week goes. At 10pm, Nashville was down half a million viewers and just a tenth in the demo despite not having Modern Family as a lead-in this week. 

Over on NBC, Revolution was down 1.3 million viewers and two tenths in the demo. Despite the drop, I still think it's actually overperforming for Wednesday 8pm still, but it can't drop much further. At 9pm, Law & Order: SVU was down a big 2.7 million viewers and seven tenths in the demo from last week's season premiere. While this is a huge drop, last week was such a big performance that hasn't been seen in a long time. If it can hover at a 2.0 demo, that'll be good for NBC. At 10pm, the series premiere of Ironside skewed ancient. It's 6.8 million viewers was OK but it's 1.3 demo was the same as the DOA Lucky 7 on ABC (though that show only had 4.4 million viewers). It doesn't seem like Ironside is going to grow enough to be the Chicago Fire of this year. It also seems like we'll be seeing Chicago PD in this slot at some point. 

CBS had one of the best week-to-week performances so far this season as their veterans were either up or down slightly. At 8pm, Survivor was up seven tenths in viewers and a good three tenths in the demo. This is what good veteran shows should do after the dust settles. At 9pm, Criminal Minds was down two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. At 10pm, CSI was up six tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. It likely benefited from facing the weak Ironside instead of Law & Order: SVU like last week. Finally on FOX, The X Factor was up a tenth in viewers and down a tenth in the demo.