Nothing was totally immune from the wrath of the “American Idol” premiere Wednesday night, but the Emmy-winning “Modern Family” managed to hold up particularly well.
Though down a bit from where it was at the end of 2010, “Modern Family” still managed a strong 4.6 adults 18-49 rating with 11.10 million viewers. That performance was actually an improvement from last week’s airing, which aired twenty minutes late in order to accommodate President Barack Obama’s speech at the Tucson Memorial.
ABC’s other comedies were all slightly down. After scoring an impressive 3.0 last week, “The Middle” fell to a still-respectable 2.7 with 8.73 million viewers. “Better with You” landed at a 2.2 with 6.83 million, while “Cougar Town” managed a 2.5 with 6.08 million. Despite the mediocre overall performance and terrible retention from “Modern Family,” “Town” has already been renewed for a third season.
CBS’ veteran “Criminal Minds,” meanwhile, showed some weakness with a soft 2.9 rating and 12.08. It, of course, received no help from 8PM anchor “Live to Dance,” which was destroyed opposite “Idol” (it averaged a mere 1.0 rating with 5.32 million viewers.
