or


[03/01/12 - 08:36 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: Another Wednesday, Another "Idol" Win
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, february 29, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (17.03 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1) held onto the top spot on Wednesday with another two-hour "American Idol" (17.03 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.9, #1).

ABC (8.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T2) and CBS (11.43 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T2) then split the silver as the former served up new episodes of "The Middle" (8.49 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6), "Suburgatory" (7.19 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T8), "Modern Family" (11.68 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.8, #2), "Happy Endings" (6.18 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #5) and "Revenge" (7.42 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.4, #T8).

As for CBS, the Eye offered up fresh installments of "Survivor: One World" (10.56 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4), "Criminal Minds" (12.50 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #3) - tied as its season low - and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (11.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.03 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up new episodes of "Whitney" (4.13 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11), "Are You There, Chelsea?" (3.54 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12) - tied as its series low, "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (2.89 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.38 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10) - tied as its series low.

And finally, a new "One Tree Hill" (1.56 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) led into the season premiere of "America's Next Top Model" (1.29 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15) on The CW (1.42 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Hill" delivered a 1.3 rating while "Top Model" posted a 0.8 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - America's Next Top Model
+16.67% - Rock Center With Brian Williams
+13.04% - The Middle
+12.00% - Happy Endings
+4.35% - Suburgatory
+3.57% - Survivor: One World
+2.13% - Modern Family
0.00% - Revenge (vs. 2/15/12)
0.00% - Criminal Minds
0.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
0.00% - Whitney
0.00% - Are You There, Chelsea?
0.00% - One Tree Hill
-3.92% - American Idol
-7.14% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Whitney (vs. Minute to Win It (Repeat))
+50.00% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Shedding for the Wedding)
+41.18% - Revenge (vs. Off the Map)
+33.33% - Suburgatory (vs. Better With You)
+30.00% - Are You There, Chelsea? (vs. Minute to Win It (Repeat))
+17.07% - Modern Family
+16.67% - Happy Endings (vs. Mr. Sunshine)
+13.04% - The Middle
0.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
0.00% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (vs. Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior)
-12.12% - Survivor: One World
-13.89% - Criminal Minds
-22.22% - One Tree Hill (vs. America's Next Top Model)
-24.38% - American Idol (vs. American Idol/Traffic Light)
-30.00% - Rock Center With Brian Williams (vs. Minute to Win It)

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.6/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.8/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/6 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.5/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/2/11):

FOX (18.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.5, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday thanks to another 90-minute "American Idol" (22.58 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.7, #1) followed by a special "Traffic Light" (7.40 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #5), which hit a series high.

CBS (12.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.2, #2) then claimed the silver with its week three mix of "Survivor: Redemption Island" (11.34 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4), "Criminal Minds" (14.33 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #3) and "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (10.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #6).

Third place went to ABC (6.86 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) with fresh installments of "The Middle" (8.12 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8), "Better With You" (5.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #9), "Modern Family" (10.11 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2), "Mr. Sunshine" (7.03 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7) and "Off the Map" (4.98 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up a repeat of "Minute to Win It #1" (3.32 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T12) followed by a new "Minute to Win It #2" (3.55 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T12) and a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.34 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #11).

And finally, new episodes of "America's Next Top Model" (2.00 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14) and "Shedding for the Wedding" (1.12 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) on The CW (1.56 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Criminal Minds (5.90%), Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (4.00%), Better With You (0.00%), Modern Family (0.00%), Mr. Sunshine (0.00%), Off the Map (0.00%), Survivor: Redemption Island (0.00%), American Idol (-2.50%), The Middle (-4.20%), America's Next Top Model (-18.20%), Shedding for the Wedding (-20.00%), Minute to Win It #2 (-23.10%).

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.2/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/5.

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

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" (0.6/4 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [march 2012]  
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
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.

[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.

[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.

[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.

[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.

[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.

[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.

[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.

[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).

[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.

[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.