Preliminary Ratings: Wednesday 04/06/2016

With a special AMERICAN IDOL episode and the hit drama EMPIRE, FOX had an easy time sweeping the Wednesday night ratings. AMERICAN IDOL won the 8 PM hour, collecting 9.6 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in Adults 18-49. That led into a new episode of EMPIRE, the #1 show of the night, which drew 11.3 million viewers and a solid 4.2 rating in Adults 18-49. But, EMPIRE did slip week-to-week, losing 1.2 million viewers and 12% in the demo.

CBS and ABC battled it for second place. CBS topped ABC in total viewers and the A25-54 demographic, while ABC edged CBS in the younger two key demos. CBS might have performed better if a new episode of CRIMINAL MINDS was on the schedule, instead viewers did get two episodes of its spin-off series, BEYOND BORDERS. Its numbers were good enough for a third place finish at 9 PM and winning the 10 pM hour.

NBC was a distant four place, with both LAW & ORDER: SVU and CHICAGO PD in encores and the new series HEARBEAT not doning any better. In fact, NBC lost to the CE in the A18-34 demo and tied in the A18-49 demo.

Preliminary L+SD Network Averages:

	Total viewers	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
ABC	5.70 million	1.0	1.6	2.0
CBS	7.70 million	0.7	1.4	2.1
CW	2.00 million	0.6	0.8	0.9
FOX	10.50 million	2.6	3.2	4.0
NBC	3.90 million	0.5	0.8	1.0

Time	Net	Program	Viewers*	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
8:00	ABC	The Middle	6.90	1.0	1.7	2.3
8:30	ABC	The Goldbergs	6.10	1.1	1.8	2.2
9:00	ABC	Modern Family	7.40	1.5	2.2	2.9
9:30	ABC	Black-ish	5.50	1.0	1.6	2.1
10:00	ABC	Nashville	4.20	0.6	1.0	1.3
8:00	CBS	Survivor	9.00	1.0	1.9	2.8
9:00	CBS	CM: Beyond Borders	7.30	0.5	1.2	1.8
10:00	CBS	CM: Beyond Borders	6.90	0.6	1.2	1.7
8:00	CW	Arrow	2.20	0.6	0.8	0.9
9:00	CW	Supernatural	1.80	0.6	0.7	0.8
8:00	FOX	American Idol	9.60	1.5	2.2	3.1
9:00	FOX	Empire	11.30	3.6	4.2	4.8
8:00	NBC	Heartbeat	4.00	0.4	0.7	1.0
10:00	NBC	Law & Order [R]	3.90	0.5	0.8	1.0
10:30	NBC	Chicago PD [R]	3.90	0.5	0.8	1.1

* - in millions