The winter break and a shortage of scripted competition worked wonders for ABC’s acclaimed new sitcom “Modern Family,” which rose to a series high among adults 18-49 Wednesday.
“Family” built on a stronger-than-usual pair of “The Middle” episodes (7.6 million, 2.2 rating at 8PM; 8.2 million, 2.7 rating at 8:30PM) to score a 4.1 demo rating with 10.2 million viewers. “Cougar Town” was solid with 7.9 million viewers and a 3.3.
ABC’s night was not a total slam dunk, however, as “Ugly Betty” failed to ignite in its new Wednesday timeslot. Though it performed better than previous occupant “Eastwick,” its 1.7 rating with 5.1 million viewers was poor and a pretty clear sign that the show is en route to cancellation.
The terrible “Ugly Betty” performance allowed CBS to cleanly wrap-up the evening among viewers and adults 18-49. “I Get That a Lot” started the night with a 2.9 rating and 8.5 million viewers, leading into the “People’s Choice Awards” (10.7 million viewers, 3.4 rating). Three of the telecast’s four half-hours scored nearly identical ratings; the 10-10:30PM portion, however, jumped to a peak of 11.8 million viewers and a 3.8 rating.
With The CW and FOX in re-runs, NBC’s night was a mixed bag. “Mercy” disappointed with a 1.7 and 7.3 million viewers, but “Law & Order: SVU,” sans competition from “Criminal Minds,” increased significantly to 10.8 million viewers and a 3.2. “The Jay Leno Show” was its usual dud with 5.2 million viewers and a 1.5.
Damn that sucks. Betty was really good last night – Id say it was better than most of the line up. Mayeb it’ll go back up next week when the People’s choice awards arnt running
I wouldnt say Betty “bombed”…thats a little exaggerated. It did better than eastwick by 60% and did better than Fridays and still came #2 in the timeslot. I think it’ll go up again next week because more people will know about the move and there wont be an award show to go up against. Big things are happenening on Betty, like getting her braces off, so that should draw in some viewers.