The much-anticipated The
X Factor premiered to a 4.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demo Wednesday
night, well below the 8.3 that American
Idol averaged for its most recent 10th season. The Simon Cowell
competition series also drew 12.1 million viewers, about half the 25 million Idol averaged last season.
Fox still won Wednesday though, just edging out ABC, which followed
with a 4.1 rating/11 share in the demo. New drama Revenge earned a 3.4, handily improving on the 1.5 that The Whole Truth opened to a year ago. Modern Family, coming off its recent
repeat Emmy win for best comedy, was the top-rated show of the night, coming in
at a 6.0, up 18% from last season's debut. The
Middle from 8-9 p.m. posted a 3.0, up 11% year-over-year.
CBS was third with a 3.5/9 though it just edged out Fox for
the win in total viewers. CSI, in its
new Wednesday timeslot, drew a 3.1, down 9% from where it opened last year on
Thursday. Criminal Minds returned to
a 4.1, up a tenth from last year's debut while Survivor posted a 3.1, down 9% from last week's premiere.
NBC placed fourth with a 1.8/5. Both Up All Night and Free Agents
shed 38% in their second week, down to a 2.3 and 1.3, respectively. Harry's Law returned to a 1.2, plunging
45% from its premiere last January. Law
& Order: SVU opened to a 2.3, down 28% from last year's debut.
The CW trailed with a 0.6/2 in the 18-49 demo. Week two of H8R slipped even further to a 0.4 in the
demo, down 33%, while America's Next Top
Model slipped 22% to a 0.7.
