Peppier ‘Pumpkin’ for ABC on Wednesday

Airing on Halloween seemed to give ABC’s annual kids’ special “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” a lift on a night when overall TV usage levels were down as kids and parents went trick or treating.

“Pumpkin” averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m. last night, according to Nielsen overnights, up 17 percent from a 2.3 last year and its best rating in three years.

The show drew a 2.5 among kids 2-11, easily the top-rated program of the night in the demo and ABC's best rating in the timeslot in the demo in two years.

But many others did not fare as well. Primetime TV viewing levels were down 7 percent versus last week, according to Nielsen, and they were off even more sharply, 9 percent, from 8 to 10 p.m., while kids were still out getting their treats.

Some of that was also probably due to the millions of households without power because of Hurricane Sandy.

A number of shows saw week-to-week declines, including ABC’s “Modern Family,” the night’s top program with a season-low 4.1 at 9 p.m. It was down 16 percent from last week.

At 8 p.m., CBS’s “Survivor” slid 14 percent to a season-low 2.4.

NBC’s “30 Rock,” airing on a special night with an election-related episode, and NBC’s “Guys with Kids” were two of the few shows to remain flat to last week’s timeslot performance, though still with low ratings, a 1.2 and a 1.4, respectively.

Fox’s “The X Factor” grew 13 percent from last week’s episode, its lowest-rated of the season, which aired on a Tuesday night rather than the usual Wednesday because of baseball. “Factor” averaged a 2.6.

Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 2.6 average overnight rating and an 8 share. CBS was second at 2.5/8, ABC third at 2.4/7, NBC fourth at 1.5/4, Univision fifth at 1.4/4, CW sixth at 1.0/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.5/2.
 
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-six percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox and CBS tied for first at 2.4, Fox for "Factor" and CBS for "Survivor," with ABC third with a 2.3 for "Pumpkin" (2.7) and "The Neighbors" (1.8). NBC and Univision tied for fourth at 1.3, NBC for "Rock" (1.2) and "Kids" (1.4) and Univision for "Por Ella Soy Eva." CW was sixth with a 1.0 for "Arrow" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.4 for "Rosa Diamante."
 
ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.3 for "Family" (4.1) and "Suburgatory" (2.4), while CBS took second with a 2.9 for "Criminal Minds." Fox was third with a 2.8 for more "Factor," NBC fourth with a 1.7 for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," Univision fifth with a 1.5 for "Abismo de Pasion," CW sixth with a 0.9 for "Supernatural" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for "Corazon Valiente."
 
At 10 p.m. CBS moved to first with a 2.3 for "CSI," with ABC second with a 1.8 for "Nashville." NBC was third with a 1.5 for "Chicago Fire," Univision fourth with a 1.3 for "Amor Bravio" and Telemundo fifth with a 0.6 for "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal" (0.7) and "El Rostro de la Venganza" (0.5).
 
CBS was first for the night among households with a 6.8 average overnight rating and an 11 share. Fox was second at 4.5/7, ABC third at 4.3/7, NBC fourth at 3.4/6, Univision fifth at 1.9/3, CW sixth at 1.7/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.7/1.
 

Tags: abc, cbs, charlie brown, cw, dvr, fox, great pumpkin, halloween, it's the great pumpkin charlie brown, kids, modern family, nbc, overnight ratings, overnights, ratings, survivor, wednesday overnights, x factor