THE SKED’S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 10/31/12

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Halloween is traditionally not a great night for network TV, especially on the younger-skewing side, brecause viewers have other plans.  Last night was no exception.

ABC:  With all the promos for NASHVILLE, THE CMA AWARDS and MALIBU COUNTRY that aired last night, viewers could be forgiven for wondering if they’d mistakenly tuned in to TNN.  It didn’t benefit Nashville any, as the show dropped to 1.8 from last week’s 2.0.  That’s a new low, but relatively speaking it was in the same place as last week, since both shows on the competing networks dropped as well.  A well-timed IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN earned a 2.7, but that did nothing for THE NEIGHBORS, down to a new low 1.8.  MODERN FAMILY and SUBURGATORY were also down, to 4.1 and 2.4 respectively.

NBC:  A last-minute airing of 30 ROCK‘s election-themed episode that would have aired tonight only managed the same 1.2 that the now-dead Animal Practice had been doing.  Given the same lead-in, GUYS WITH KIDS did the same 1.4.  SVU and CHICAGO FIRE were both down, to 1.7 and 1.5, completing the dismal night.

CBS:  Even CBS wasn’t immune from the general downward trend.  SURVIVOR was hit worst, down 0.4 to 2.4.  CRIMINAL MINDS was down 0.2 to 2.9, and CSI held pretty well, down only 0.1 to 2.3 and easily winning the hour.

FOX:  At 2.7, X FACTOR was way down from its last new Wednesday episode, a 3.5.

CW:  Currently, ARROW and SUPERNATURAL are looking strong, with the former down 0.1 to 1.0, and the latter actually up by 0.2 to 0.9.  But the Chicago CW affiliate aired a simulcast of the Bulls game, so those numbers may not hold up.

Tonight, Novembver sweeps starts on a tuneful note, as no less than 3 networks air music-themed programming:  The CMAs on ABC, X Factor on FOX, and a rerun of Monday’s The Voice on NBC.  That leaves CBS and CW as the last outposts of original scripted programming for the night.