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Two Longtime Reality Juggernauts Fall to All-Time Ratings Lows

Apr 4, 2013  •  Post A Comment

A pair of the most durable and successful franchises in reality television sank to historic lows in the ratings Wednesday night, based on Nielsen overnights for the key 18-49 demo.

TVbytheNumbers.com reports that the ratings freefall continued for Fox’s “American Idol," as the two-hour show lost 6% from last week. “Idol’s” 3.0 average rating in 18-49 was an all-time low for the Wednesday edition — following last week’s all-time low of 3.2.

On CBS, “Survivor” equaled its all-time low with a 2.4 average in viewers 18-49, slipping 4% from a week ago.

The top show of the night was ABC’s “Modern Family,” which bounced back from last week’s season low. The show improved 28% to a 4.1 in the 18-49 demo, up from the 3.2 it hit a week ago.

When the dust settled, Fox wound up on top for prime time overall, averaging a 3.0 in adults 18-49 to finish ahead of CBS (2.4 average), ABC (2.3), Univision (1.7) and NBC (1.5). Fox also won total viewers, averaging 11.5 million to CBS’s 9.9 million, ABC’s 7.2 million, NBC’s 6.1 million and Univision’s 3.9 million.

CBS’s lineup was down from its previous round of original episodes. “Criminal Minds” delivered a 2.8 in 18-49, down 7%, while “CSI” slipped to a 2.1, down 9%.

ABC rolled out the new series “How to Live With Your Parents,” with decent results. The show earned a 2.9 in viewers 18-49, much better than what “Suburgatory” has been delivering in the time period but also equaling the premiere of the ill-fated “Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23” about a year ago.

Elsewhere on ABC, “The Middle” improved 11% from last week to a 2.0 in the 18-49 demo, “Suburgatory” dipped 5% to a 1.8 and “Nashville” built up to a 1.7, 13% better than last week.

NBC had what could be considered a highlight as “Dateline” delivered the 8 p.m. Wednesday hour’s best number in 12 weeks, even if it was only a 1.4 average in 18-49. That was a 27% improvement from the show’s most recent airing on Sunday, March 24.

Elsewhere on NBC, “Law & Order: SVU” lost 6% from last week, settling for a 1.6 in viewers 18-49, and “Chicago Fire” also lost 6% and delivered a 1.6.

One Comment

  1. Please, God, tell me this is the beginning of the end of this long national nightmare.

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