Wednesday Ratings Show More 'Idol' Dominance tvbythenumbers.com

The group singing on "American Idol" proved the strongest Nielsen draw on Wednesday night, but ABC and CBS found reasons to be satisfied, too, reports TVbythenumbers.com.

In the 8 o'clock hour, Fox's "Human Target" led the way with a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 year old demographic. ABC's special "Charlie Brown's Valentines" and "The Middle," however, averaged a 2.75 for the overall hour in the 18-49 demo. CBS's "New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried" scored a 2.3 and 2.4 respectively. NBC's "Mercy" snagged a 1.8.

"American Idol's" 9 o'clock hour surged to a 9.5 in the 18-49 rating, down 5% from this time last year. ABC's "Modern Family" was second at 9-9:30 with a 4.2, but "Cougar Town" slipped to a 2.8 from 9:30-10. CBS's "Criminal Minds" had a 3.8 for the hour.

CBS's "CSI: NY" took 10 o'clock with a 3.6, twice as much as a repeat of NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" with a 1.8 in the 18-49. Despite being a repeat, "SVU" did 18% better in the time period than the average "The Jay Leno Show" in the same time period. ABC's "Ugly Betty" was just a tick back with a 1.7.

-- Allison J. Waldman