Premiere Week Ratings - Wednesday, Sept. 23

Wednesday was one of the more anticipated nights of the new season. Would ABC' comedies deliver? Based on reactions and ratings, both Modern Family and Cougar Town did just that. Moder Family BUILT on the lead in audience of Dancing With the Stars (15.4 Million, 3.3 demo) by drawing 12.6 million viewers and a 4.2 18-49 demo rating. Cougar Town also drew impressive numbers. 11.3 million viewers and a 4.4 demo rating. A very good start.

Eastwick may end up being a quick crash and burn for ABC. Despite such a strong lead in by Cougar Town, Eastwick only held on to about 75% of the viewers and just 68% of the demo. Week #2 could see even weaker numbers. Will the Witches be allowed to celebrate Halloween???


CBS continued to have a terrific premiere week, despite the so-so numbers by Old Christine (7.2 Million viewers, 2.2 demo) and Gary Unmarried (6.9 Million Viewers, 2.3 demo). Bt could see dramatically worse numbers next week as the go up against the series premieres of the ABC comedies Hank and The Middle.

Crime does continue to pay for CBS as both Criminal Minds and CSI:NY can still draw big audiences. Both shows drew the top audience numbers for the night at 15. 8 million and 15.1 million viewers, respectively. Both series premieres drew great numbers in the 18-49 demographic. CM lead the way with a 4.4 rating and CSI:NY was just below at a 4.0 rating.

NBC is still feeling the sting of reality setting back in this week. Its top show of the night was the series premiere of MERCY (8.4 Million viewers, 2.3 Demo). The only good news from that is that it topped the CBS comedies. Law & Order: SVU just could not go head to head with Criminal Minds. It drew only 8.36 million viewers and 2.5 demo rating. A big drop from its Tuesday 10 time slot from last season. Jay Leno was able to stay at 2.0 demo rating last night, along with 6.4 million viewers. Get use to it.

SYTYCD & GLEE took a hard hits against the premieres from the big 3. Dance drew just 5.5 million viewers and a 2.5 demo rating, while GLEE did build on those numbers (6.6 million, 3.1 demo) they are nothing to cheer about.

YES, the CW was airing programs last night, even though you couldn't tell by the ratings. America's Next Top Model was a tiny 2.8 million viewers and a 1.3 demo rating. Hard to believe this was once the crown Jewel of the CW. The Beautiful Life is looking like a dog in the ratings. Just 1 million viewers and a .5 demo rating. What is worse is that the target demo for the CW (W 18-34) was weak for both shows, crushed by FOX's lineup.

WINNERS for Wednesday:
Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Modern Family, Cougar Town, DWtS

Losers:
Law & Order: SVU, Leno, ANTM, TBL, Old Christine, Gary Unmarried.