Ratings: American Idol Dominates Wednesday Night

From TV by the Numbers:

FOX easily won the night as American Idol dominated. It’s 8.5/23 with adults 18-49 between 8-10p outpaced the combined competition.

CBS’s Wednesday comedy block suffered with The New Adventures of Old Christine down 26% from its last new episode and Gary Unmarried was down 17%. Criminal Minds fared much better, down only 3% from its last original outing. CSI:NY was down 9% as Law & Order: SVU gave it much more of a run for the money than The Jay Leno Show ever did, and NBC rose from the cellar to take third place for the night.

ABC had a bad night with The Middle down 28% from its last original outing, and Modern Family down 15%. Cougar Town was down 11%. With a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating, the Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special was 19% lower than Ugly Betty’s last original episode in the time slot. The daytime Queen held no sway in primetime last night.

Season to date, "Idol" is running about 5% behind last year's pace.

Even if it was down, Modern Family is the highest rated scripted show of the night, surging 66% in 18-49 from it's lead-in.

Source TV by the Numbers