‘CSI’ springs back after a series low

“CSI” got a little sweeps spring after posting a series-low rating last week.

CBS’s long-running procedural saw the biggest week-to-week improvements for any show on a night when a handful of broadcast programs saw gains.

“CSI” grew 21 percent, from a 1.9 to a 2.3, according to Nielsen overnights.

It also tied ABC’s “Castle” as the highest-rated 10 p.m. program on the Big Three so far this week.

The veteran drama was one of two shows on CBS to see week-to-week growth last night. Reality program “Survivor” improved 0.1 on last week’s premiere, which was the lowest debut ever for the series.

Last night’s episode averaged a 2.5 and placed second to Fox’s “American Idol” in the 8 p.m. hour.

“Idol” was again the night’s top show, leading Fox to its sixth straight Wednesday night victory, averaging a 4.1 from 8 to 10 p.m. That was down from a 4.3 last week and was the lowest-rated performance episode since season one.

Still, Fox notes that “Idol” is off just 11 percent from last year through the show’s first six weeks.

ABC was the other network to see significant gains on the night. The 8 p.m. sitcom “The Middle” was up 16 percent week to week, to a 2.2.

That helped lead-out “The Neighbors” to a 12 percent gain, up 12 percent.

On a night of Oscar-themed programming hyping ABC’s Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday, “Modern Family” also saw week-to-week growth, up 3 percent to a 3.9. It was the night’s No. 2 show behind “Idol.”

Finally, NBC’s “Guys with Kids” (up 10 percent from last week’s series-low 1.0 to a 1.1) and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (up 13 percent to a 1.7) also improved week to week.

Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 4.1 average overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 2.5/7, ABC third at 2.1/6, Univision fourth at 1.6/5, NBC fifth at 1.5/4, CW sixth at 0.9/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.6/2.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-seven percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 4.0 for “Idol,” followed by CBS with a 2.5 for “Survivor.” ABC was third with a 2.0 for “Middle” (2.2) and “Neighbors” (1.9), Univision fourth with a 1.8 for “Por Ella Soy Eva,” NBC fifth with a 1.1 for “Whitney” (1.1) and “Guys With Kids” (1.1), CW sixth with a 0.9 for “Arrow” and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for “Pasion Prohibida.”

Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 4.2 for more “Idol,” while ABC moved to second with a 3.0 for “Family” (3.9) and “Suburgatory” (2.0). CBS was third with a 2.7 for “Criminal Minds,” Univision fourth with a 1.8 for “Amores Verdaderos,” NBC fifth with a 1.7 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” CW sixth with a 0.9 for “Supernatural” and Telemundo seventh with a 0.8 for “La Patrona.”

CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.3 for “CSI,” with NBC second with a 1.9 for “Chicago Fire,” its top show of the night. ABC and Univision tied for third at 1.3, ABC for a special Oscar-themed edition of “20/20″ and Univision for “Amor Bravio,” and Telemundo was fifth with a 0.6 for “El Rostro de la Venganza.”

Fox also finished first for the night among households with an 8.5 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 6.5/10, ABC third at 4.3/7, NBC fourth at 3.4/5, Univision fifth at 2.0/3, CW sixth at 1.6/2 and Telemundo seventh at 0.8/1.

Tags: abc, american idol, cbs, csi, cw, dvr, fox, law & order: special victims unit, nbc, overnight ratings, overnights, wednesday overnights