RATINGS RECAP: 1/6/16

ABC
8:00 The Middle
Viewers: 7.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
8:30 The Goldbergs
Viewers: 6.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
9:00 Modern Family 
Viewers: 8.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8
9:30 Black-ish
Viewers: 6.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
10:00 American Crime
Viewers: 4.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2

CBS
8:00 2 Broke Girls
Viewers: 6.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7
8:30 Mike & Molly
Viewers: 6.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6
9:00 People's Choice Awards
Viewers: 6.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3

NBC
8:00 The Mysteries of Laura
Viewers: 6.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0
9:00 Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 7.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
10:00 Chicago PD
Viewers: 8.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9

FOX
8:00 American Idol
Viewers: 11.0 million, 18-49 demo: 3.0

Wednesday night brought back American Idol to FOX for one final season. The former ratings champ had a pretty healthy return as it was down just two tenths in the demo from last year's premiere (which was an hour before the series premiere of Empire). It also topped the night in the demo. The question is, will it be able to hold up better this season with the end in sight than it did last season? On NBC, its drama lineup was new for the first time since November 18. The Mysteries of Laura returned weakly as it dropped six tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. The rest of the night went better for them. Law & Order: SVU benefited from no drama competition in the hour and rose 1.5 million viewers and four tenths in the demo. The conclusion of the Chicago trilogy on Chicago PD led that show to rise a big 2.3 million viewers and half a demo point. It delivered its second best total viewership number ever and its bet demo since November 2014. I'm sure there will be another crossover before the season is over.

On ABC, the comedy lineup returned mostly on par. The Middle was down three tenths in viewers but up a tenth in the demo while The Goldbergs was down four tenths in viewers and up a tenth in the demo. Not bad considering there was new comedy competition in the hour. At 9pm, Modern Family was up two tenths in viewers and the demo. Black-ish had the biggest bounce as it rose three tenths in viewers and a strong four tenths in the demo for its best number since the season premiere. It seems there really is an Empire effect on Black-ish but the good news is Empire isn't back until late March. At 10pm was the season premiere of American Crime. It was well below last year's series premiere but above most results from last season. It could have been worse. Finally on CBS, the new comedy block premiered OK. 2 Broke Girls was on par with recent Thursday episodes while Mike & Molly tied a series low in the demo, but was a good pair with Girls. This will be a serviceable lineup for CBS for the next several weeks. At 9pm, the People's Choice Awards was down big from 2015, which was down big from the year before.

WINNER OF THE NIGHT: Chicago PD (NBC)
LOSER OF THE NIGHT: The Mysteries of Laura (NBC)