ABC comedy “Super Fun Night” lost more steam Wednesday in its third outing, while NBC’s “Ironside” remained a modest performer in its third airing but seems to have held at last week’s level. CW, meanwhile, had a good night with the second week of its combo of “Arrow” and “The Tomorrow People.”
ABC, CBS and Fox all tied for the young-adult lead on the night, though Fox (with postseason baseball) will fall behind the others with DVR playback. The Alphabet scored well early with Halloween-themed special “Toy Story of Terror,” and its “Modern Family” was again Wednesday’s top series in key demos.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “Modern Family” (4.0 rating/11 share in adults 18-49, 10.8 million viewers overall) was up slightly from last week to easily lead the 9 o’clock half-hour in 18-49 as well as adults 25-54 (3.5/8). But at 9:30 p.m., “Super Fun Night” (2.1/6 in 18-49, 6.0 million viewers overall) dropped 16% week to week, and to a number that’s half of where it started two weeks ago (4.2). Its retention level is now comparable to what “Happy Endings” and “Suburgatory” did behind “Modern Family.”
Also for ABC on Wednesday, “Toy Story of Terror” scored a good 3.0/9 in 18-49 and 10.3 million viewers overall to sweep the 8 o’clock half-hour; it logged the network’s best 18-49 delivery in the half-hour since an episode of “The Middle” in November 2011, and its biggest score among kids (a big 5.7/19) in six years. Despite that surge, new comedy “Back in the Game” didn’t benefit at 8:30 p.m. (1.8/5 in 18-49, 6.2 million viewers overall), matching last week’s score. Closing the night, and despite a softer lead-in this week, sophomore drama “Nashville” (1.7/5 in 18-49, 5.8 million viewers overall) was up slightly.
Elsewhere, had a typically solid Wednesday with its veteran lineup of “Survivor” (2.5/7 in 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall), “Criminal Minds” (2.7/7 in 18-49, 10.9 million viewers overall) and “CSI” (2.0/6 in 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall). “Survivor” was steady while the dramas each edged up; “CSI” was the No. 1 broadcast series in its hour in 18-49, 25-54 and total viewers.
And for the night, CBS led outright in both 25-54 (3.2/8) and total viewers.
CW’s “Arrow” (1.1/3 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall) was up two-tenths from its premiere for its best 18-49 rating since February and its largest overall audience since April. It was followed by the second week of “The Tomorrow People” (0.8/2 in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall), which was down a tick in 18-49 but up in total viewers as well as adults 18-34 (to 0.6/2).
At Fox, Game 4 of baseball’s American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers averaged a 2.4/7 in 18-49 and 8.1 million viewers overall on the net’s stations from 8 to 11 p.m., with these averages expect to rise a bit in the nationals. The previous high in this series came with Sunday’s Game 2 (2.4 in 18-49, 8.35 million viewers overall). Last year’s comparable Fox game (Game 3 of the NLCS on a Wednesday) did a 1.4 prelim rating in 18-49, which rose to a 1.6 in the nationals.
NBC’s “Revolution” (1.4/4 in 18-49, 5.4 million viewers overall) was on par with last week, while “Law & Order: SVU” (1.7/5 in 18-49, 7.4 million viewers overall) was up a bit and “Ironside” was flat (1.1/3 in 18-49, 4.9 million viewers overall). (Based on half-hour round-offs, though, “SVU” could edge up a tick in the nationals to a 1.8, while “Ironside” could dip to a 1.0).
CW’s “Arrow” (1.1/3 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall) was up two-tenths from its premiere for its best 18-49 rating since February and its largest overall audience since April. It was followed by the second week of “The Tomorrow People” (0.8/2 in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall), which was down a tick in 18-49 but up in total viewers as well as adults 18-34 (to 0.6/2).)
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: ABC, CBS and Fox, 2.4/7; NBC, 1.4/4; Univision, 1.2/3; CW, 0.9/3; Telemundo, 0.5/1.
In total viewers: CBS, 10.1 million; Fox, 8.1 million; ABC, 7.5 million; NBC, 5.9 million; Univision, 3.1 million; CW, 2.6 million; Telemundo, 1.2 million.
