TV Ratings Wednesday: 'X Factor' No 'Idol'; 'Modern Family' Premieres Big; 'Revenge' Gets Nice Start; CSI > SVU

Update: early finals alert, in time-zone adjusted fast national numbers, The X Factor was adjusted up 0.2 with adults 18-49 to a 4.4 rating and 12.5 million viewers.

Fox eked out a win on the night with adults 18-49, but there might be more smiles at ABC and CBS. The X Factor's 4.2 adults 18-49 rating and 12.14 million viewers was nowhere close to Idol and well short of Modern Family's 6.0 adults 18-49 rating and 14.3 million viewers. A few have e-mailed to say the comparisons between X Factor and Idol are unfair, and while that is perhaps true, those comparisons were inevitable with Simon, Paula and a lot of promotion.

At 8pm, X Factor led, but Survivor held up with a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating and ABC's The Middle debuted to a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating, up 11% from last fall's premiere. As even NBC surely expected, its new comedies were down big from last week's premieres following America's Got Talent. Both shows fell 38% with adults 18-49, but Up All Night held up pretty well all things considered with a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating but Free Agents fell to a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating

At 9pm the aforementioned Modern Family, which was up 18% vs. last fall's half-hour premiere comfortably led The X Factor, but props to the somewhat unheralded Criminal Minds which debuted with a 4.1 adults 18-49 rating. Harry's Law got off to a (s)low start and was pounded into dust by the 9pm competition with a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating.

ABC's Revenge got off to a nice start, winning the 10pm hour with a 3.4 adults 18-49 rating and and 10.15 million viewers, 127% better than the premiere of The Whole Truth a year ago. Revenge bettered Ted Danson's debut on CSI's 3.1 adults 18-49 rating, but CSI won the hour in total viewers with 12.59 million. The Stabler-less Law & Order: SVU was last at 10pm with a 2.3 adults 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers.

Spoiler:

awesome for Revenge, it was good.