Primetime Ratings: 'Nashville' Steady in Third Week; 'Chicago Fire' Rises

Game 1 of World Series draws 12.2M viewers, down 14% from last year

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/25/2012 11:27:13 AM

ABC's country music drama Nashville was even in its third week with a 2.0 rating with adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. Earlier, The Middle was also flat with last week at 2.5, while The Neighbors was up 5% to a 2.0 and Modern Family rose 4% to a 4.9. Sophomore comedy Suburgatory was the only show to drop, falling 4% from last week's premiere for a 2.7. ABC finished in a tie with CBS for second with an overall 2.7 rating/7 share.

For CBS, Survivor stayed at a 2.8 and Criminal Minds was down 3% to a 3.0 (both are season lows). CSI improved 4% from last week to a 2.4.

Fox won the night with its coverage of Game 1 of the 2012 World Series. The game drew 12.2 million total viewers, down 14% from last year's Game 1; it registered a 3.7 rating in the demo.

NBC saw improvement for most of its lineup, finishing with an overall 1.6/4. The canceled Animal Practice, was up 9% to a 1.2, while Guys With Kids was down 7% to a 1.3. New drama Chicago Fire was up 20% in its third week to a 1.8. Law & Order: SVU's 300th episode drew 1.8, up 13% from last week.

The CW rounded out the night with a 0.9/3. Arrow, which was picked up for a full season earlier this week, still held up well in its third week, falling just two tenths to a 1.1 with 18-49s. The superhero drama was also down just a tenth with the net's targeted 18-34 demo to a 1.0. Supernatural was down 30% in 18-49s to a 0.7 and down 33% with 18-34s to a 0.6.