TV ratings: ‘Sing-Off’ falls in second night, ‘Modern Family’ up

NBC’s resurrected musical contest “The Sing-Off” fell Wednesday night from its debut, while ABC’s comedies made up some ground in the ratings week to week. Among the major networks, it was CBS that won the night, though its shows’ numbers are down.

“The Sing Off,” the series hosted by Nick Lachey that had been off the air for two years, drew 5.92 million viewers to its second episode, and a rating of 1.8 among key 18- to 49-year-olds, according to early numbers from Nielsen. In the young adults demographic, it was down 25% from the premiere Monday, though that was expected because the debut was helped by its lead-in, “The Voice.” “Sing-Off’s” rating was up slightly from the second night of the show’s last cycle in the fall of 2011.

NBC also had a Kelly Clarkson holiday music special. “Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Music Tale” was watched by 5.33 million people overall and garnered a 1.4 in the 18-49 group, about in line with last year’s Michael Buble special.

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CBS won Wednesday outright with an average of 10.3 million viewers and a 2.2, though “Survivor” fell 4% from last week, and “Criminal Minds” (Wednesday night’s most-watched show) and “C.S.I.” both fell 14% compared with their last original episodes three weeks ago.

On ABC, “Modern Family” rose to a 3.5 to win among young adults, and the freshman Rebel Wilson comedy jumped 14% from last week to a 1.8, while drawing 5.5 million viewers overall. “The Middle” was flat in the demo, while “Back in the Game” ticked up and “Nashville” fell 13% to tie its lowest number ever.

Fox had a flat “X Factor,” which scored a 1.4 rating and an audience of 4.89 million.

CW’s midseason finale for “Arrow” was down week to week in 18-49, but it hit a series high with men aged 18-34 for the second part of its Barry Allen storyline. “Arrow,” also halfway through its season, was up over last year’s midseason closer, while essentially tying last week’s numbers.

[UPDATE: This post has been updated to note that Monday’s debut of NBC’s “Sing-Off” had “The Voice” as a lead-in.]

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ryan.faughnder@latimes.com