RATINGS RECAP: 9/24/14

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 7.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2
8:30 The Goldbergs
Viewers: 7.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4
9:00 Modern Family
Viewers: 11.4 million, 18-49 demo: 3.9
9:30 Black-ish
Viewers: 11.0 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3
10:00 Nashville
Viewers: 5.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5

CBS
8:00 Survivor
Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
9:30 Big Brother
Viewers: 6.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6

NBC
8:00 The Mysteries of Laura
Viewers: 10.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5
9:00 Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 10.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2
10:00 Chicago PD
Viewers: 8.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9

FOX
8:00 Hell's Kitchen
Viewers: 3.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3
9:00 Red Band Society
Viewers: 3.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1

On Wednesday night, ABC's new comedy lineup got off to a great start. Leading off at 8pm, The Middle wasn't at its strongest with an OK 2.2 demo. It seems like it should have done better for a season premiere. The Goldbergs first new Wednesday airing was a big success though as it built on The Middle in the demo and delivered its best numbers since the series premiere a year ago. 8:30pm occupants almost never build on The Middle so this was a huge win for the sophomore show. At 9pm, five-time Emmy winner Modern Family premiered to strong numbers just below last year's premiere and above the big wedding season finale. It led into the series premiere of Black-ish and the newest ABC family comedy delivered better retention than many post-Modern Family shows. It was almost exactly on par in total viewers but skewed a little bit older. This was a fantastic start for the new show and it looks like ABC finally having some cohesion to their comedy lineup will pay off. At 10pm, the Nashville season premiere did nothing special. If Black-ish continues to be strong, Nashville is going to look even worse.

NBC had a surprisingly strong night. The biggest surprise came at 8pm with The Mysteries of Laura premiering in its regular timeslot. It skewed very old but was down just two tenths in total viewers from its premiere behind America's Got Talent. It also grew during the half hour. Despite the old skew, this is a very promising start for the new 8pm occupant. At 9pm, Law & Order: SVU premiered to good numbers in its 16th season. It was below last year's huge two hour, 2.6 shock, but it still did very well. At 10pm, Chicago PD also did well with good retention from SVU and the second strongest total viewer count, trailing only the series premiere. This is one of those lineups like CBS Sunday that could survive on good total viewers and older skews, as long as the demos don't get too bad.

For the past several years, CBS has premiered Survivor and finished Big Brother on the Wednesday before the season began. This year, they waited until premiere week and were actually up from last season despite more competition. These two veteran reality franchises which started in the same summer (2000) are still doing quite well nearly 15 years later. FOX's disastrous week (aside from Gotham) continued in full force on Wednesday. Hell's Kitchen was down three tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo for series lows. Even a reliable franchise like this can't get out of FOX's steep descent. Week two of Red Band Society was down seven tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo. These numbers might seem like an instant cancellation, but it's going to be fine for now because FOX really does not have anything better to put in. This network is in such disarray, it's like it's the 1980s all over again and they're just starting out.

WINNER OF THE NIGHT: Black-ish (ABC)
LOSER OF THE NIGHT: Nashville (ABC)