ABC's 'Middle'
climbs without 'Hank'
First-year sitcom averages a 2.4 in 18-49s, up 26 percent
By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 19, 2009
The cancellation of the short-lived Kelsey Grammer sitcom "Hank" turned out to be a double win for ABC last night.
A rerun of "Modern Family" performed much better than "Hank's" final episode in the Wednesday 8 p.m. slot, and the original "The Middle" that followed soared compared to its most recent outing without the dumpy lead-in dragging it down.
"Middle" averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating at 8:30 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, its second-best rating ever and up 26 percent over its Nov. 4 episode. (ABC aired the "CMA Awards" in the timeslot last week.)
That's not a spectacular rating, but in a timeslot that lacks a standout show on the Big Four, it was enough to finish second, just 0.1 behind winner "Gary Unmarried" on CBS.
Undoubtedly "Middle" got a boost from airing behind the "Family" rerun, which averaged a 1.9 rating, up 46 percent from the 1.3 that "Hank's" final episode averaged two weeks ago.
ABC has already given a full-season order to "Middle," as well as its other two new sitcoms on the night, "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town," both of which also rose compared to their Nov. 4 outings.
Also last night, the season finale of the CW's "America's Next Top Model" averaged a season-high 3.2 among women 18-34, the network's target audience, though that was well down from a 4.3 for last fall's season 11 ender. "Model" won the timeslot in the demo.
CBS's "CSI: NY" was the night's top show among total viewers, averaging 13.7 million at 10 p.m.
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CBS was first for the night among 18-49s with a 3.1 average overnight rating and a 9 share. Fox was second at 2.7/7, ABC third at 2.6/7, NBC fourth at 2.0/6, Univision fifth at 1.5/4 and CW sixth at 1.3/3.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 2.4 for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (2.2) and “Gary Unmarried” (2.5), followed by ABC with a 2.2 for a repeat of “Family” (1.9) and a new “Middle” (2.4). Fox was third with a 2.1 for “So You Think You Can Dance,” NBC fourth with a 2.0 for “Mercy” (up 18 percent from last week), CW fifth with a 1.7 for “Model” and Univision sixth with a 1.4 for “El Nombre del Amor.”
CBS was first again at 9 p.m. with a 3.7 for “Criminal Minds,” while ABC remained second with a 3.4 for an original “Family” (3.7) and “Cougar Town” (3.2). Fox was third with a 3.2 for “Glee,” NBC fourth with a 2.6 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Univision fifth with a 1.9 for “Sortilegio” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for a “Top Model” clip show.
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 3.2 for “CSI: NY,” with ABC second with a 2.3 for “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts.” NBC was third with a 1.4 for “The Jay Leno Show” and Univision fourth with a 1.2 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
CBS also led the night among households with a 7.3 average overnight rating and a 12 share. NBC was second at 4.7/8, ABC third at 4.6/8, Fox fourth at 3.9/6, Univision fifth at 2.0/3 and CW sixth at 1.8/3.
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