TV ratings: 'Criminal Minds' and 'Modern Family' lead a soft Wednesday

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012

Wednesday's ratings were for the most part down -- except at CBS, which saw "Criminal Minds" improve a bit on last week's numbers and which got a boost with the return of "CSI" to its usual spot.

"Modern Family" kept its title as the No. 1 show of the night in adults 18-49, but it was well below its season average. "The X Factor" and "Arrow" were down some as well, and NBC's "Take It All" plummeted without "The Voice" as a lead-in. Barbara Walters' annual "10 Most Fascinating People" special fell for the second straight year.

CBS drew 10.55 million viewers and a 6.6 rating/10 share in households in primetime. ABC (7.8 million, 5.0/8) edged FOX (7.7 million, 4.6/7) for second place. NBC was a pretty distant fourth with 3.8 million viewers and a 2.5/4. The CW (2.4 million, 1.5/2) trailed.

In the 18-49 demographic, CBS' 2.7 rating just beat FOX's 2.6 for the lead. ABC came in third with a 2.4. NBC averaged 1.2 and The CW 0.8.

Wednesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "Survivor: Philippines" (10.2 million viewers, 6.3/10 households)
FOX: "The X Factor" (7.6 million, 4.7/7)
ABC: "The Middle" (7.5 million, 4.7/8)/"The Neighbors" (5.5 million, 3.5/6)
NBC: "Whitney" (3.8 million, 2.5/4)/"Guys With Kids" rerun (2.7 million, 1.9/3)
The CW: "Arrow" (3.1 million, 1.9/3)

18-49 leader: "Survivor: Philippines" (2.8)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Criminal Minds" (11.9 million, 7.4/11)
ABC: "Modern Family" (10.8 million, 6.5/10)/Special - "Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012" (7.4 million, 4.8/7)
FOX: "The X Factor" (7.8 million, 4.6/7)
NBC: "Take It All" (3.4 million, 2.2/3)
The CW: Special - "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" (1.6 million, 1.0/2)

18-49 leader: "Modern Family" (4.2)

10 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" (9.5 million, 6.1/10)
ABC: "Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012" (7.8 million, 5.3/9)
NBC: "Chicago Fire" (4.8 million, 3.2/5)

18-49 leader: "CSI" (2.2)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change. Source: The Nielsen Company.

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