‘Idol’ paces Fox to win on a down night

Several top broadcast shows fell to season lows last night, including Fox’s “American Idol” and ABC’s “Modern Family.”

“Idol,” the night’s top show, paced Fox to yet another Wednesday win despite the decline.

The reality program drew a 4.6 from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, off 15 percent from last week and its lowest Wednesday outing this season.

“Idol” won every half hour against the other broadcast competition.

It was hardly the only show to see ratings fall last night. “Family,” the evening’s top scripted series, drew a 3.8 at 9 p.m., down 10 percent from its most recent original episode two weeks ago.

Another strong Wednesday show, CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” dipped 13 percent week to week to a season-low 2.7.

There were a few programs to buck the trend. ABC’s “The Neighbors (1.8) and “Suburgatory” (2.1) both grew, though they faced easy comparisons to last week, when they both fell to season lows.

And the CW’s “Arrow” was up 11 percent week to week to a 1.0

Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 4.6 average overnight rating and a 13 share. ABC was second at 2.2/6, CBS third at 2.1/6, NBC fourth at 1.5/4, Univision fifth at 1.4/4, CW sixth at 1.0/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.4/1.

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 4.4 for “Idol,” followed by ABC with a 2.1 for “The Middle” (2.3) and “Neighbors” (1.8). Univision was third with a 1.5 for “Por Ella Soy Eva.” CBS and NBC tied for fourth at 1.2, CBS for a repeat of “Person of Interest” and NBC for “Whitney (1.2) and “Guys With Kids” (1.2, up 9 percent from last week). The CW was sixth with a 1.0 for “Arrow” and Telemundo seventh with a 0.4 for “Pasion Prohibida.”

Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 4.7 for more “Idol,” while ABC remained second with a 3.0 for “Family” (3.8) and “Suburgatory” (2.1). CBS was third with a 2.7 for “Minds,” Univision fourth with a 1.6 for “Amores Verdaderos,” NBC fifth with a 1.5 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” CW sixth with a 0.9 for “Supernatural” and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for “La Patrona.”

CBS moved to first at 10 p.m. with a 2.4 for “CSI,” with NBC second with a 1.8 for “Chicago Fire.” ABC was third with a 1.7 for “Nashville,” Univision fourth with a 1.2 for “Amor Bravio” and Telemundo fifth with a 0.4 for “El Rostro de la Venganza.”

Fox also finished first for the night among households with an 8.4 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 6.5/10, ABC third at 4.5/7, NBC fourth at 3.4/5, Univision fifth at 1.9/3, CW sixth at 1.6/2 and Telemundo seventh at 0.6/1.

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