Primetime Ratings, Wednesday, 1/30/13

For the third straight week, American Idol brought FOX the victory in all measures.

Speaking of which, AI dropped slightly yet again, but still easily owned the compeition. ABC comedy anchors The Middle and Modern Family both took the night off, leaving their respective lead-outs to flounder around. The Neighbors dropped two tenths, while Suburgatory dropped four, both matching series lows. Not good.

NBC's own comedies, Whitney and Guys With Kids, both returned to drops. Whitney may have been able to somehow luck into a second season, but neither of these shows is going to come back if they keep having a ceiling of 1.5. Law & Order: SVU wasn't helped by the poor lead-in, dropping four tenths. Chicago Fire also dipped. NBC Wednesday's continue to be mostly terrible.

CBS broadcast the yearly Greatest SuperBowl Commercials special, which drew what it normally does. We got a slight shocker on the CW, with the usually very reliable Arrow dipping below the 1.0 threshold for the very first time. This obviously represents a series low, but it could very well be a fluke. Lead-out Supernatural stayed the course as always, drawing the 0.9 it does basically every week. That kind of consistency is why the show will surely return for a ninth(!) season next fall.

Key: Broadcast Network - Show Name - 18-49 Rating - 18-49 Share - Total Viewers In Millions

8PM

FOX - American Idol (N) - 5.4 - 14 - 15.59

CBS - Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials - 2.1 - 6 - 9.87

ABC - The Middle (R) - 1.3 - 4 - 5.52

NBC - Whitney (N) - 1.3 - 4 - 3.59

CW - Arrow (N) - 0.9 - 3 - 3.00

8:30PM

ABC - The Neighbors (N) - 1.6 - 4 - 5.25

NBC - Guys With Kids (N) - 1.1 - 3 - 2.90

9PM

ABC - Modern Family (R) - 2.1 - 5 - 6.17