TV ratings: 'American Idol' Top 40 dips Wednesday while 'Modern Family' and 'Survivor' rise

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013

The first performances of the Top 40 on "American Idol" gave the show a few more viewers than last week, but its adults 18-49 rating fell a little Wednesday. FOX still led the night by a good margin.

Elsewhere, "Modern Family" was up a little over last week, as was "Survivor: Caramoan," which improved on its low premiere in the 18-49 demographic. "Law & Order: SVU" also improved for NBC, but Katie Couric's Oscar special on ABC wasn't much of a draw.

FOX averaged 14.2 million viewers and an 8.5 rating/13 share in households in primetime, leading CBS (10.4 million, 6.5/10) by 4 million viewers. ABC (6.8 million, 4.3/7) came in third. NBC took fourth with 5.1 million viewers and a 3.4/5. The CW was fifth with 2.7 million viewers and a 1.6/2.

"Idol" scored a 4.1 rating for FOX in the 18-49 demographic, down a bit from last week's 4.3. CBS grabbed second with a 2.5, beating ABC's 2.1. NBC scored a 1.5 in the demo and The CW a 0.9.

Wednesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

FOX: "American Idol" (13.8 million viewers, 8.3/13 households)
CBS: "Survivor: Caramoan" (9.45 million, 5.7/9)
ABC: "The Middle" (8.2 million, 5.0/8)/"The Neighbors" (6.3 million, 3.8/6)
The CW: "Arrow" (3.1 million, 1.9/3)
NBC: "Whitney" (3.25 million, 2.2/4)/"Guys With Kids" (3 million, 2.1/3)

18-49 leader: "American Idol" (4.0)

9 p.m.

FOX: "American Idol" (14.6 million, 8.7/13)
CBS: "Criminal Minds" (10.7 million, 6.9/10)
ABC: "Modern Family" (10.6 million, 6.1/9)/"Suburgatory" (5.9 million, 3.6/5)
NBC: "Law & Order: SVU" (5.7 million, 3.9/6)
The CW: "Supernatural" (2.2 million, 1.3/2)

18-49 leader: "American Idol" (4.2)

10 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" (10.5 million, 6.9/11)
NBC: "Chicago Fire" (6.4 million, 4.1/7)
ABC: Special - "Mad About Oscar with Katie Couric" (5 million, 3.5/6)

18-49 leader: "CSI" (2.3)

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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