“Arrow” gets solid sampling

New dramas Nashville, Chicago Fire battle it out head-to-head

Put a hold on The CW’s funeral, poindexter.

Arrow, the new highly-anticipated drama based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, drew a 1.3 adult 18-49 demo rating, making it the highest-rated premiere on CW since The Vampire Diaries in 2009, and the highest adults 18-49 demo in two years. Arron’s rating was higher than NBC’s sitcom block of Animal Practice (1.1, series low) and Guys With Kids (1.4). NBC can’t possibly keep these two crap “comedies” on the air much longer.

Elsewhere, Fox’s X Factor won the hour with a 3.5/10, down slightly from last week while CBS’ Survivor hit a series low with a 2.8/8. This season of Survivor thus far has been structurally flawed (three tribes? Just ONE challenge per episode now?) as viewers continue to stay away after last cycle’s “Jump The Shark” season with Colton. ABC’s The Middle followed with a respectable 2.4/7 with The Neighbors dropping 17 percent from the lead-in to a 2/6.

In the second hour of prime-time ABC’s Modern Family dominated with a 4.8/13 for the first episode and a 4.9/12 for the second, averaging around 12 million viewers for the hour. Criminal Minds came in third (behind X Factor) with a 3/8, followed by NBC’s long-in-the-tooth Law and Order: SVU with a 1.8/5, which grew 29 percent from its pathetic lead-in. CW’s brought up the rear with Supernatural (1.0/3), up 25 from the previous week.

In the battle for ratings supremacy between ABC’s Nashville and NBC’s Chicago Fire, it was the country singers victorious over the firefighters. Nashville scored a 2.8/8, winning its time period in the demo – but was down from what Revenge earned in the time period last year. Meanwhile, the premiere of Fire earned a lackluster 1.9/5, behind not only Nashville, but also behind CSI (2.6/7), which drew 10.6 million viewers.

Of note on cable, A&E’s Duck Dynasty averaged a 1.8 rating and 4.2 million viewers for two back-to-backers, very competitive opposite Nashville and Fire on the broadcast networks. Comedy Central’s South Park also competed in the same time slot with a 1.3 rating and 2.3 million viewers. Finally, Game 3 of the ALDS between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees drew a 1.8 rating and 5.7 million viewers on TBS.

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