or


[10/04/12 - 08:36 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: Presidential Debate Creates Tight Race Between Big Four
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for wednesday, october 3, 2012)

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

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the live Presidential Debate coverage, Fast Nationals for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC are approximate.]

CBS (9.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T1) was the most-watched network on Wednesday thanks to its mix of "Survivor: Philippines" (10.49 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #5), "CBS News Special" (10.18 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3) and "Debate Analysis" (6.95 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10).

Sharing the demo crown was FOX (7.39 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T1) with its lineup of "The X Factor" (9.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #T1), "FOX News Special" (6.98 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6) and "Debate Analysis" (4.88 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T12).

Next up was NBC (8.00 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) with originals from "Animal Practice" (5.22 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.5, #14) and "Guys With Kids" (5.50 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T12) followed by its "NBC News Special" (9.91 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.4, #T1) and "Debate Analysis" (7.55 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.5, #7).

Meanwhile, ABC (8.77 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #4) offered up week two of "The Middle" (7.93 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8) and "The Neighbors" (6.61 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T10) plus "ABC News Special" (10.12 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #T3) and "Debate Analysis" (7.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T8).

And finally, the season finale of "Oh Sit!" (0.92 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) and the return of "Supernatural" (1.80 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) on The CW (1.36 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Oh Sit!" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Supernatural" a 0.8 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.50% - Guys With Kids
+9.68% - The X Factor
+7.14% - Animal Practice
-3.33% - Survivor: Philippines
-18.52% - The Middle
-25.00% - Oh Sit!
-39.39% - The Neighbors

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+80.00% - Guys With Kids (vs. Free Agents)
0.00% - Supernatural (vs. America's Next Top Model)
-6.45% - Survivor: Philippines
-12.82% - The X Factor
-18.52% - The Middle
-25.00% - Oh Sit! (vs. H8R)
-31.82% - Animal Practice (vs. Up All Night)
-33.33% - The Neighbors (vs. Suburgatory)

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; 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," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; 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" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 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 (10/5/11):

FOX (10.20 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) edged out the competition on Wednesday thanks to a 90-minute "The X Factor" (11.54 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2) and a special "Raising Hope" (6.19 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.3, #10).

CBS (11.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2) then was a competitive second place with its mix of "Survivor: South Pacific" (10.54 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.1, #4), "Criminal Minds" (13.34 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (11.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T6).

Next up was ABC (8.91 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3) and its lineup of "The Middle" (9.01 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.7, #8), "Suburgatory" (9.05 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5), "Modern Family" (13.08 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1), "Happy Endings" (6.92 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T6) and "Revenge" (7.69 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.5, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (6.86 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) offered up its sagging combination of "Up All Night" (5.65 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.2, #11), "Free Agents" (3.28 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #14), "Harry's Law" (8.22 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.88 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #12).

And finally, new episodes of "H8R" (1.15 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #16) and "America's Next Top Model" (1.68 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15) on The CW (1.41 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5) rounded out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "H8R" posted a 0.4 rating while "Top Model" delivered a 1.1 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+5.56% - Criminal Minds
+5.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
+4.76% - Up All Night
+3.85% - The Middle
+2.63% - The X Factor
0.00% - Survivor: South Pacific
0.00% - Free Agents
0.00% - Modern Family
0.00% - Harry's Law
0.00% - America's Next Top Model
-3.33% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
-7.41% - Revenge
-9.09% - Suburgatory
-9.38% - Happy Endings
-33.33% - H8R

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+78.57% - Revenge (vs. The Whole Truth)
+46.67% - Up All Night (vs. Undercovers)
+38.10% - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (vs. The Defenders)
+30.43% - Suburgatory (vs. Better With You)
+28.71% - The X Factor (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
+24.44% - Modern Family
+12.50% - The Middle
+8.57% - Criminal Minds
-6.45% - Happy Endings (vs. Cougar Town)
-11.11% - America's Next Top Model (vs. Hellcats)
-12.50% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Law & Order: Los Angeles)
-13.89% - Survivor
-30.30% - Raising Hope (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
-33.33% - Free Agents (vs. Undercovers)
-52.00% - Harry's Law (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
-69.23% - H8R (vs. America's Next Top Model)

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," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.4/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

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," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.7/6 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" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/5 in metered-market households and a 0.5/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [october 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
[10/07/25 - 03:52 PM]
FOX Sports' ALDS Coverage Up 14% Year-Over-Year Across FOX and FS1
3,187,000 viewers tuned in on average for the first four games of the 2025 ALDS across FOX and FS1.

[10/07/25 - 03:10 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN & ABC Score Three of Week 6's Top Four Games
ABC's telecast of Vanderbilt at Alabama on Saturday averaged 6.4 million viewers.

[10/07/25 - 02:54 PM]
College Football on FOX Scores Big in Week Six
In Week 6, "Big Noon Saturday" scored 4,627,000 viewers for Michigan's 24-10 win over Wisconsin on FOX - the most-watched noon game on any network.

[10/07/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN Scores Most-Watched Game 1 of the WNBA Finals in 28 Years
Coverage averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 62% from last year.

[10/07/25 - 02:40 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Roars in Week 5 as Most-Watched Telecast of the Week on Any Network
20,333,000 average viewers on average tuned into the network for Week 5.

[10/07/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 29: "French Lover" Swoons at No. 1, "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" Chills in Top 10 Debut
Plus: "Wayward" reached No. 1 on the TV list for a second consecutive week, with 14.1 million views.

[10/06/25 - 10:04 AM]
ESPN Sets Multiple MLB Wild Card Series Viewership Records
ESPN networks averaged 4,625,000 viewers across 11 games, making it the most-watched Wild Card Series ever under the current format.

[10/03/25 - 02:46 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Years, "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos for Season Premiere
"Nightline" drew its largest overall audience in nearly 2 years and delivered its strongest Adult 25-54 performance in 20 months.

[10/03/25 - 02:45 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
"20/20" opened its new season with its strongest performance in Total Viewers (2.752 million) and Adults 25-54 (386,000) in over 3 months.

[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.