With the ongoing television ratings struggle enhanced by head-to-head competition from “American Idol” and “Modern Family,” CBS’ veteran “Criminal Minds” actually lost in the ratings race to new spin-off “Suspect Behavior.”
According to final ratings, “Criminal Minds” clocked in with a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating and 12.85 million viewers Thursday night. “Suspect Behavior” followed with a 3.3 rating and 13.06 million viewers.
That performance was enough to give “Suspect Behavior” a timeslot victory in its debut; NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” could only muster a 2.2 with 7.31 million head-to-head, while ABC’s “Off the Map” was off the radar with a 1.5 and 4.33 million.
Against “Criminal Minds,” “Idol” averaged an 8.2 with 23.20 million viewers, while “Modern Family” posted a 4.3 with 10.57 million viewers. 9:30PM ABC comedy “Mr. Sunshine” was not a huge threat, however–it dropped to a mere 2.6 with 6.93 million viewers for episode two.
