TV Ratings: CBS Wins Night, ‘Sing-Off’ Slides, ‘Arrow’ Dips

Back for its second show of the week amid its current abbreviated run, The Sing-Off (1.8/5) had a standoff with The X Factor (1.4/4) last night. The NBC series hit the higher note, but the two-hour a cappella show still slid 25% from Monday’s airing to hit a winter telecast low. Heading toward next week’s Season 3 finale, last night’s live X Factor on Fox remained even with its December 4 episode as the final four acts showed their wares with three songs each in anticipation of an elimination tonight.

Last week CBS was all encores except for Survivor (2.5/8), but last night it was a full slate of originals. The 13th and penultimate episode of the Mark Burnett-produced reality show’s 27th season slipped 4% from its December 4 episode. The rest of the night was not so kind to CBS: The return of Criminal Minds (2.4/7) and CSI (1.8/5) saw both series down 14% from their last originals three weeks ago. Still, with 11.02 million viewers, Criminal Minds was the most watched show Wednesday, helping CBS finish first for the night in adults 18-49 (2.2/6) and viewers (10.260 million).

On The CW, it was the midseason finale for Arrow (1.1/3) and The Tomorrow People (0.5/1). With a little more of fellow superhero The Flash and a new mask for the title hero, the series slipped 8% from last week but saw a 10% rise from the 1.0/3 its Season 1 winter closer drew last December 12. For freshman Tomorrow People, the night was not so rewarding as it fell 17% from its December 3 episode. Both series are set to return January 15.

The singing continued through the night on NBC with Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Music Tale (1.4/4) special. Part comedy and part musical, and partially based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, it was recorded in Las Vegas on October 30. It finished even with the network’s Michael Buble Christmas last December 10 last year, with the 10 PM one-hour show jam-packed with NBC’s best and brightest like The Voice judge Blake Shelton, departing Tonight Show host Jay Leno, Today’s Matt Lauer and America’s Got Talent’s Heidi Klum among others.

On ABC, it was the last night of the year for originals of its Wednesday primetime lineup. Just-named Golden Globe nominee and the top-rated show of the night, Modern Family (3.5/10) was up 9% from last week’s season low. Fellow veteran comedy The Middle (1.9/6) was even with the season-low result of its December 3 episode. The now-cancelled Back In The Game (1.5/4) ended its clipped run up slightly, with a 7% rise from last week. No word yet if and when ABC will broadcast the remaining episodes of Game either in the new year or on another platform. Fellow freshman Rebel Wilson’s Super Fun Night (1.8/5) rose 13% among the key demo and also saw a 15% viewership rise to 5.5 million. With a deathly cliffhanger, Nashville (1.4/4) closed the night for the network on a down note. The country drama, which scored a Golden Globes supporting actress nom for Hayden Panettiere this morning, fell 14% from last week’s tie with its November 20 episode to match a series low. With the exception of Game, Wednesday’s shows are set to return in early January.