TV ratings: Kennedy Center Honors and 'Criminal Minds' give CBS a victory Wednesday

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012

CBS' broadcast of the annual Kennedy Center Honors -- the only non-repeat on the broadcast networks Wednesday night -- helped the network score a ratings win. The special's total-viewer count was down a little bit from last year, but its adults 18-49 rating improved. A "Criminal Minds" repeat also did pretty well for the network.

CBS averaged 8.3 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/9 share in households for the night, winning the evening by a wide margin over second-place NBC (4.3 million, 2.7/5). ABC (3.9 million, 2.5/4) came in third. The CW (1.6 million, 1.0/2) edged FOX (1.5 million, 1.0/2) for fourth.

The Eye scored a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the demographic race. NBC's 1.1 was good for second, while ABC was third at 1.0. FOX posted a 0.7 and The CW a 0.4.

Wednesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "Criminal Minds" rerun (8.5 million viewers, 5.4/9 households)
ABC: "The Middle" rerun (4.7 million, 3.1/5)/"The Neighbors" rerun (4.1 million, 2.6/4)
NBC: "Whitney" rerun (3.5 million, 2.3/4)/"Guys With Kids" rerun (2.9 million, 1.8/3)
The CW: "Arrow" rerun (1.9 million, 1.2/2)
FOX: "Ben and Kate" reruns - two episodes (1.75 million, 1.1/2)

18-49 leader: "Criminal Minds" (1.7)

9 p.m.

CBS: Special - "The 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors" (7.7 million, 4.9/8)
NBC: "Law & Order: SVU" rerun (5.4 million, 3.5/6)
ABC: "Modern Family" rerun (5.4 million, 3.3/5)/"Suburgatory" rerun (3.7 million, 2.3/4)
FOX: "Ben and Kate" reruns - two episodes (1.3 million, 0.9/1)
The CW: "Supernatural" rerun (1.27 million, 0.8/1)

18-49 leader: "Modern Family" (1.7)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors" (8.6 million, 5.4/9)
NBC: "Chicago Fire" rerun (4.2 million, 2.7/5)
ABC: "Nashville" rerun (2.7 million, 1.8/3)

18-49 leader: "The 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors" (1.4)

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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