TV ratings: ‘American Idol’ dominates; ‘Super Fun Night’ falls

Fox dominated Wednesday night’s TV ratings with “American Idol,” which drew an average of 12.4 million viewers and a rating of 3.8 among the key 18-49 age group, according to early numbers from Nielsen.

With the advertiser-coveted young-adult viewers, the veteran singing contest was down just 5% from last week’s episode and was easily the highest-rated show of the night. Fox’s average 18-49 number of 3.8 more than doubled the closest competing broadcaster.

That’s partly due to the lack of original episodes of some of the usually high-rated shows, including ABC’s “Modern Family” and CBS’ “Criminal Minds” and “CSI.” CBS’ only original was the “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” compilation, which brought in 9.5 million viewers and a rating of 1.9 in 18-49, representing a slight decrease from a year ago.

PHOTOS: Cable versus broadcast ratings

Repeat episodes of “The Middle” and “Modern Family” didn’t help ABC’s other comedies. Following the “The Middle” rerun, “Suburgatory” garnered a 1.5 in the key demographic, down 17% from last week, and “Super Fun Night” scored its lowest-ever rating (1.3) after the “Modern Family” encore. ABC’s bright spot for the night was “Nashville,” which grew 7% to a 1.5.

On NBC, “Revolution” fell 13% from last week to a 1.3, but “Law & Order: SVU” and the new “Chicago PD” both improved. With a 1.9 in 18-49, “SVU” increased 6% from a week ago, and the “Chicago Fire” spinoff rose 6% to a 1.7. “Chicago PD” has risen in two of the first three telecasts after the series debuted.

With both “Arrow” and “Tomorrow People” showing improvements over last week, the CW was up 13% in total viewers with an average of 2.19 million for the night. It was also up 14% in 18-49.

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