TV Ratings Wednesday: Halloween a Trick Not A Treat -- 'The X Factor', 'Modern Family', 'Nashville', 'Chicago Fire,' 'Criminal Minds', 'Survivor' & 'CSI' Down

FOX was the number one network in adults 18-49 while CBS was on top with total viewers.

People do not watch television on Halloween, even when the holiday falls in the middle of the week and a good chunk of the country is digging out from a giant storm. Adults 18-49 television usage dropped 7% from last Wednesday.

Update: The Time Zone Adjusted Numbers are in. The X Factor rose to a 2.7 among adults 18-49.

On FOX, the first night of live performances on The X Factor earned a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating, down from a 3.5 for the show’s last Wednesday episode on October 11.

On ABC, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown scored a 2.7 up 17% from last year's 2.3 adults 18-49 rating on Thursday, October 27, 2011.  The Neighbors earned a series low 1.8 down 10%  from last week's 2.0 adults 18-49 rating. Modern Family notched a 4.1, down 16% from last week's 4.9 among adults 18-49. Suburgatory earned a 2.4 down 11% from last week's 2.7 adults 18-49 rating. Nashville garnered a series low 1.8 down 10% from last week's 2.0 adults 18-49 rating.

On CBS, Survivor: Philippines scored a 2.4, down 14% from last week’s 2.8 adults 18-49 rating. Criminal Minds garnered a 2.9 down 6% from last week's 3.1 adults 18-49 rating. CSI earned a 2.3 down 4% from last week's 2.4 adults 18-49 rating.

On NBC  30 Rock earned a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating, tying its series low and matching Animal Practice’s performance in the time period last week. Guys With Kids scored a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating, even with last week. Law And Order: SVU earned a 1.7, down 11% from last week's 1.9 adults 18-49 rating. Chicago Fire earned a 1.5, down 17% from last week's 1.8 among adults 18-49.

On the CW, Arrow scored a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating, down from last week's 1.1 among adults 18-49. Supernatural was the only regular program to grow versus last week. It earned a 0.9 among adults 18-49, up from last week's 0.7. However, CW programming was preempted in Chicago for a Bulls game, so these numbers will probably be adjusted in the finals.

Late-night results are below the primetime data.

Overnight ratings for Wednesday, October 31, 2012:

-

via press note:

In Late-Night Metered Markets Wednesday night (averages currently
> exclude seven markets, including some of the country's biggest: New
> York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Hartford,
> Providence and Columbus):
>
> * In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The
> Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David
> Letterman," 2.8/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/8; and "Jimmy
> Kimmel Live," 2.0/6.
>
> * In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results
> were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/4; "Late Show," 0.7/3;
> "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.8/5.
>
> * At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in
> metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig
> Ferguson" (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late
> Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) beat "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).
>
> * At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in
> metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49
> in the 25 markets with local people meters.

NOTE: All ratings are "live plus same day" from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise indicated.
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2012 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

You can see TV ratings from other recent Overnight ratings reports here.

Definitions: Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings, including demographics, are available at approximately 11 AM (ET) the day after telecast, and are released to subscribing customers daily. These data, from the National People Meter sample, are strictly time-period information, based on the normal broadcast network feed, and include all programming on the affiliated stations, sometimes including network programming, sometimes not. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. For example, with a World Series game, Fast Affiliate Ratings would include whatever aired from 8-11PM on affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone, following the live football game, but not game coverage that begins at 5PM PT. The same would be true of Presidential debates as well as live award shows and breaking news reports.

Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.

Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. (See also, Rating, which represents tuning or viewing as a percent of the entire population being measured.)

Time Shifted Viewing – Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live+Same Day (Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+Same Day (Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.

For more information see Numbers 101.