RATINGS RECAP: 10/1/14

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 7.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0
8:30 The Goldbergs
Viewers: 7.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
9:00 Modern Family
Viewers: 10.6 million, 18-49 demo: 3.7
9:30 Black-ish
Viewers: 8.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6
10:00 Nashville
Viewers: 5.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6

CBS
8:00 Survivor
Viewers: 9.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4
9:00 Criminal Minds
Viewers: 11.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
10:00 Stalker
Viewers: 9.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0

NBC
8:00 The Mysteries of Laura
Viewers: 9.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5
9:00 Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 7.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
10:00 Chicago PD
Viewers: 6.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5

FOX
8:00 Hell's Kitchen
Viewers: 3.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4
9:00 Red Band Society
Viewers: 3.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1

Wednesday night had two premieres from CBS and it was the veteran creepy drama that was much stronger than the new one. First up, Survivor was down three tenths in viewers and the demo from last week's premiere. At 9pm, the season premiere of Criminal Minds featuring new cast member Jennifer Love Hewitt delivered very solid numbers. It was showing some big declines last year, so this is a positive sign. The news was not as positive at 10pm where Stalker premiered to a modest 9.1 million viewers and a 2.0 demo. It's not a bad showing by any means, but it should have done better considering its lead-in seemingly appealed to the same fan base. It's far too early to make predictions but if Scorpion and NCIS: New Orleans continue to hold up well, this show could be getting replaced.

Over on ABC, week two of the comedy lineup had most entries holding up pretty well. At 8pm, The Middle was down two tenths in viewers and the demo. This show is not looking quite as strong so far. For the second straight week, The Goldbergs built nicely on its lead-in. It was down just two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. This slot has made all the difference for this sophomore show. At 9pm, Modern Family was down eight tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo for a solid second week of the season and the top demo of the night again. The weakest showing fr ABC was week two of Black-ish as it fell a pretty hard 2.7 million viewers and seven tenths in the demo. Of course there was a curiosity factor last week, but a comedy nestled in a nice lineup like this shouldn't have had such a big week two drop. It's still promising, but not nearly as much as last week. At 10pm, Nashville was down half a million viewers but actually up a tenth in the demo to beat Chicago PD for second in the hour.

NBC's #WCW lineup had a decent second week. At 8pm, The Mysteries of Laura was down a million viewers but even in the demo. It still skewed old, but skewed slightly younger, and the total viewership remains a big plus. I think this is an over-performer so far this season. At 9pm, Law & Order: SVU was down 2.4 million viewers and four tenths in the demo. This was a big drop but it wasn't horrible coming off the season premiere, and facing Criminal Minds. The worst news came at 10pm where Chicago PD slipped 1.9 million viewers and four tenths in the demo despite less competition. It fell behind Nashville in the demo, which is a disappointment. Finally on FOX, Hell's Kitchen was up two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo while Red Band Society stabilized and was down a tenth in viewers and even in the demo.

WINNER OF THE NIGHT: Criminal Minds (CBS)
LOSER OF THE NIGHT: Chicago PD (NBC)