“American Idol” Ratings Fall, “Modern Family” Up, “Psych” Needs John Cena

Likely due to a misunderstanding about the nature of Wednesday’s episode, the “Road to Hollywood” edition of “American Idol” disappointed–from a relative standpoint–in the ratings last night.

With 21 million viewers and a 7.8 among adults 18-49, “Idol” dominated the night but performed well below its average. Because the show was touted as a special (even though it, for all intents and purposes, was just like any other audition episode), most are not reading too much into the disappointing number, though, and fully expect “Idol” to return to form for the first Hollywood week episodes, which feature the debut of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge.

In its regular 8PM timeslot, “Human Target” performed below hopes, averaging 7.8 million viewers and a 2.4 rating.

The weaker edition of “Idol” allowed ABC’s “Modern Family” to stay relatively strong at 9PM. When up against “Idol” for the first time in January, “Modern Family” dropped significantly among adults 18-49. This time, it nearly matched its last non-head-to-head airing, scoring a 3.9 rating with 9.2 million viewers. Lead-out “Cougar Town” did not retain well, however, scoring a 2.9 with 6.3 million viewers. The shows were book-ended by “The Middle” (7.3 million, 2.7) and “Ugly Betty” (4 million, 1.4).

Over on CBS, “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” was a surprise success, averaging a healthy 11 million viewers and a 2.9 rating. “Criminal Minds” followed with a 3.8 and 14.7 million, leading into “CSI: NY” (14.2 million, 3.4).

NBC’s “Mercy” was soft with 6.2 million viewers and a 1.6. With “Law & Order: SVU” airing a repeat, lame duck “The Jay Leno Show” had little in the way of a lead-in and posted a 1.2 with 4.2 million viewers.

– Over on cable, “Psych” demonstrated that last week’s successful airing in the Wednesday timeslot might have been primarily due to John Cena’s guest appearance. The show dropped to a 1.1 with 2.9 million viewers this week, beating cable rival “Leverage” (2.9 million, .9) in adults 18-49 but losing slightly in total viewers.

(Partial Source: Mediaweek)