TV ratings: ABC, CBS tie for No. 1 in key demo

Charlie Brown is a great pumpkin for ABC.

The network tied with CBS with the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic on Wednesday night with help from its annual Halloween specials.

Its presentation of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” rounded out the top five most-watched programs of the night in the key demo with a rating of 2.1.

It surpassed ratings for primetime TV shows “Mysteries of Laura,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Stalker” and “Arrow.”

The special, which averaged 6.28-million viewers, was on par with its year-ago Halloween telecast in the key demo.

ABC’s other Halloween special “Toy Story of Terror” earned a rating of 1.8 in the key demo. It rounded out the top 10 in most-viewed programs overall, averaging 6.26-million viewers.

The network also scored big with “Modern Family,” which was No. 1 in the key demo with a rating of 3.3 and averaged 9.5-million viewers.

Though down 11% from last week, the network’s new sitcom, “black-ish,” stayed strong. It came in second to “Modern Family” with a rating of 2.5. It averaged almost 7-million viewers.

Overall, ABC was third with about 6.5-million viewers. Both ABC and CBS won over the key demo with a rating of 2.1 in the key demo.

CBS averaged 9.3-million viewers.

The most viewed program of the night was “Criminal Minds,” which averaged 10.7 million viewers. Up 4% from last week, the show earned a rating of 2.4 in the key demo.

“Survivor” tied its series low with a rating of 2.3 in the key demo. However, it was third most watched overall with about 9.3-million viewers.

“Stalker” stayed even with last week with a rating of 1.7 in the key demo.

On NBC, Debra Messing’s new show “Mysteries of Laura” stayed even with last week with a rating of 1.3 in the key demo. It was fourth most watched of the night with 8.5 million viewers.

“Law & Order: SVU” also stayed even with last week with a rating of 1.7 in the key demo. It averaged 7.3-million viewers and tied for seventh most watched program in the key demo.

“Chicago P.D.” was up 7% from last week with a rating of 1.6 in the key demo. About 6.5 million people tuned in to the show.

Meanwhile, The CW’s “Arrow” dropped 20% from last week’s season 3 premiere. It earned a rating of 0.8 in the key demo and averaged about 2.3-million viewers.

Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” was down 14% from last week in the key demo with a rating of 1.2. It stayed steady in total viewers, averaging 3.7 million.

Also on the network, “Red Band Society” stayed even with last week with a rating of 0.9 in the key demo. It averaged 3.1-million viewers.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h