TV ratings: ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Survivor’ top Wednesday

A reality TV stalwart and Phil Dunphy et al. led Wednesday night in the ratings, according to early numbers from Nielsen.

CBS’ unscripted veteran “Survivor,” now in its 28th cycle, was the most-watched show of the night, drawing 9.8 million viewers overall. As CBS’ only original in prime time, “Survivor” pulled in a rating of 2.3 among key 18- to 49-year-old viewers, down 8% from last week.

ABC’s “Modern Family” returned as the highest-rated show in the key 18-49 demographic, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers. The comedy’s Las Vegas-themed episode scored a 3.5, up slightly from its last original episode. It averaged 9.7 million viewers total.

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That gave ABC’s new “Mixology” a big boost to a 1.7 in the demo, up 42% from last week when the comedy followed a “Modern Family” rerun. The Disney-owned broadcaster’s other shows -- “The Middle,” “Suburgatory” and “Nashville” -- posted week-to-week declines.

Fox’s “American Idol” earned a 2.1, down a 10th of a point from a week ago, as the top nine contestants faced off. An average of 9.1 million people tuned in. That number from the singing contest gave Fox a nightly win in the advertiser-coveted demo and total viewership as CBS’ averages were lowered by reruns of “Criminal Minds” and “CSI.”

NBC had only reruns and an NBC News special on Prince Harry that drew 3.8 million viewers.

On the CW, the second episode of the new post-apocalyptic drama “The 100” fell two tenths of a point from its strong premiere to a 0.7 in 18-49 and 2.3 million viewers total. “Arrow” increased week-to-week to a 0.8 and 2.6 million viewers.

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