or


[05/12/11 - 08:43 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: "Better With You" Ticks Up in Season Finale
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, may 11, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (18.69 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.8, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday with new episodes of "American Idol" (22.37 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.9, #1) and the departing "Breaking In" (7.65 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5).

CBS (10.87 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then claimed the distant silver with fresh installments of "Survivor: Redemption Island" (10.44 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4), "Criminal Minds" (13.08 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3) and "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (9.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8).

Next up was ABC (6.18 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) and its mix of "The Middle" (7.16 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T8), the season finale of "Better With You" (5.96 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10), "Modern Family" (10.11 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2), "Cougar Town" (6.14 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5), "Happy Endings" (4.25 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11) and another "Happy Endings" (3.47 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.85 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up a new "Minute to Win It" (3.05 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15), a repeat of "Minute to Win It" (3.54 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and a new "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.96 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T5).

And finally, an encore of last week's "America's Next Top Model" (1.23 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) led into a new "America's Next Top Model" (1.97 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14) on The CW (1.60 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Better With You (18.80%), America's Next Top Model (11.10%), Modern Family (10.50%), Cougar Town (9.10%), American Idol (7.80%), The Middle (5.00%), Criminal Minds (3.10%), Survivor: Redemption Island (0.00%), Happy Endings (10:00) (0.00%), Happy Endings (10:30) (0.00%), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (-4.00%), Breaking In (-4.00%), Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (-4.50%), Minute to Win It (-10.00%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.1/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.0/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.1/5; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.5/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/12/10):

FOX (12.12 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) claimed top honors on Wednesday with a new "American Idol" (19.10 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.4, #1). Kicking off the night was a repeat of "Lie to Me" (5.14 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #14).

The silver then went to CBS (10.39 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) with the season finale of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (7.19 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10) followed by a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.65 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.0, #9) and fresh installments of "Criminal Minds" (12.88 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #3) and "CSI: NY" (11.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T5).

Next up was ABC (5.97 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with a repeat of "The Middle" (5.69 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #13) and new episodes of "The Middle" (7.51 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7), "Modern Family" (10.10 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2), "Cougar Town" (6.13 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T5) and "Happy Town" (3.21 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.2, #15).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) offered up a special "Minute to Win It" (6.72 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8), the season finale of "Mercy" (4.11 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #16) and a new "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (8.51 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.8, #4).

And finally, a new "America's Next Top Model" (3.93 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #11) lead into the season finale of "America's Next Top Model" (3.57 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.7, #12) on The CW (3.75 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.

[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.

[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.

[10/14/25 - 02:50 PM]
ALCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes Draws 5.3 Million Viewers
The Mariners victory over the Blue Jays averaged 5,310,000 viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services.

[10/14/25 - 02:39 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched LDS on FOX/FS1 Since Launch of Postseason Baseball on FS1 in 2014
On Friday, 8,723,000 viewers tuned in for the Mariners' historic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 victory.

[10/14/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" Registers Record Fourth Blockbuster Audience of 25+ Million Viewers This Season, As Lions-Chiefs Averages 27.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
Lions-Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics, marking the second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC "SNF."

[10/14/25 - 01:45 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Return Strong for New Seasons
"Shifting Gears" earned the biggest audience since the show's Valentine's Day episode; while "Abbott Elementary" jumped over the show's season four premiere among Total Viewers as well as the season four average.

[10/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 6: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Rocks the Boat as No. 1 Debut in This Week's Top 10
In the spirit of the season of chills, "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" claimed the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, rising to the top in its second week with 20.7 million views.

[10/10/25 - 03:07 PM]
3,287,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 4 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 4, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +11% from 2024 and +31% over 2023.

[10/10/25 - 09:04 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scores Historic Growth in Week Four
"Dancing with the Stars" rose for the third straight week following its season premiere, for the first time in the show's history, in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[10/09/25 - 05:01 PM]
3,177,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 3 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 3, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +14% from 2024 and +28% over 2023.