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January 26, 2012
 

The Sked: WEDNESDAY RATINGS January 25

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Written by: Mitch Metcalf
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>American Idol still guided FOX to a Wednesday win, but wow is the show in a tailspin.  Are they letting too many untalented singers through?  Jim Carrey’s daughter the other night — really?  Is the format simply tired?  In any case, it still won the 8 pm hour handily and helped successfully launch the new drama Touch.

             Nightly Adult 18-49 Rating
Wednesday    FOX    CBS    ABC    NBC
01.25.2012   5.2    2.9    1.5    1.3
01.26.2011   9.2    2.1    2.1    1.4

FOX’s American Idol fell to a preliminary 6.4 rating with Adults 18-49 last night, down 14% from the first Wednesday telecast last week.  Last year, the second Wednesday Idol episode fell 5% from the first (9.2 for two hours from 9.7 for the two hour premiere).  Although any network would kill for a 6.4 rating, there is clearly a problem with the show.  Fewer people turned out for the premiere and fewer people are coming back.  Nonetheless, Touch starring Keifer Sutherland premiered solidly with a 3.9 rating from 9-10 pm.  Last year on this night, FOX averaged a 9.2 for American Idol, with the following ratings by half hour:  8:00 (7.7), 8:30 (9.5), 9:00 (9.4) and 9:30 (10.3).    

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks
FOX Wed      High Low  1221 1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25 
American Idol7.4  7.2                      7.4  6.4* 
Touch        3.9  3.9                           3.9* 
X Factor     4.4  2.5  3.3  —   —   — 
Hate Teenage 2.8  1.8  2.0  —   —   —

CBS averaged a 2.9 rating for the night.  A repeat Criminal Minds (1.7) supported a decent Minds original at 9 (3.6) and a season high for CSI (3.3), as Marg Helgenberger left the once mighty crime series.  Last year on this night: Live to Dance (1.0), Criminal Minds (3.2) and Blue Bloods (2.1).  

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks 
CBS Wed      High Low  1221 1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25
Survivor     3.6  3.1  —   —   —   —   —   —
Criminal Min 4.1  3.2  1.5R 2.4R 2.0R —   3.2  3.6*
CSI          3.3  2.5  1.6R 2.1R 1.7R —   2.8  3.3*

NBC’s “Happy Hour” of female comedy continues its voyage to the bottom of the ratings, a 1.4 for original episodes of Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea?  A two-hour repeat block of SVU episodes didn’t do much better, scoring a 1.2 at 9 and 1.4 at 10 pm.  Last year on this night was about the same from 8-10 pm but much better at 10 pm: Minute to Win It (1.4), Chase (1.2) and Law & Order SVU (1.7).         

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks 
NBC Wed      High Low  1221 1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25
Up All Night 2.4  1.5  —   1.0R 1.0R
Free Agents  1.3  1.0  
Whitney      2.1  1.6                 2.0  1.6  1.4*
Chelsea      2.3  1.7                 2.3  1.7  1.4*

Harry’s Law  1.4  1.1  —   0.5R 0.8R 1.2  1.1  — 
L&O SVU      2.4  1.8  1.0R 0.9R 1.1R 2.0  1.8  1.4R

ABC still finished ahead of NBC with a slate of repeats.  Last year on this night, ABC averaged a 2.1 rating: The Middle (2.0), The Middle (2.0), Modern Family (2.6), Cougar Town (2.0) and Off the Map (1.8).   

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks 
ABC Wed      High Low  1221 1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25
The Middle   3.2  2.5  1.4R 1.3R 3.0  2.9  2.5  1.5R
Suburgatory  3.4  2.5  1.5R 1.4R 2.9  2.9  2.5  1.4R 
Modern Fami  6.1  4.5  2.2R 1.9R 5.7  5.1  5.1  2.5R 
Happy Ending 3.5  2.7  1.4R 1.2R 3.2  3.0  2.9  1.7R 
Revenge      3.4  2.1  0.9R 0.6R 2.5  2.4  2.5  0.9R

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About the Author

Mitch Metcalf
MITCH METCALF has been tracking every US film release of over 500 screens (over 2300 movies and counting) since the storied weekend of May 20, 1994, when Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 3 inspired countless aficionados to devote their lives to the art of cinema. Prior to that, he studied Politics and Economics at Princeton in order to prepare for his dream of working in television. He has been Head of West Coast Research at ABC, then moved to NBC in 2000 and became Head of Scheduling for 11 years.