TV Ratings: 'Modern Family' Returns Down But Dominant, 'Neighbors' Debuts Respectably

ABC/PETER "HOPPER" STONE

Wednesday's episode of The X-Factor was only slightly dampened by increased competition during the two-hour block, most notably the return of demo favorite Modern Family. Fox's two-hour episode was down just six percent from last Wednesday, pulling a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49 and 9.5 million viewers according to fast affiliate numbers.

our editor recommends

Neighbors: TV Review

Behind the Scenes of THR's 'Modern Family' Cover Shoot

Animal Practice: TV Review

Boyfriends, Condoms, Babies, Vasectomies: 'Modern Family' Cast and Creators Reveal 7 Spoilers for Season 4

The night's winner among individual broadcasts, however, was Modern Family. While down eight percent from last year's premiere, the fourth season opener pulled a 5.5 rating with adults 18-49 -- enough to easily make it the top demo performer of the season thus far. The Middle kicked off the night on ABC, down 10 percent from last year, with a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49.

THR COVER: Inside 'Modern Family's' Billion-Dollar Winning Formula and How Season 4 Might Change Everything

The Neighbors opened in the ideal, post-Modern-Family slot at 9:30 p.m. down 40 percent from its strong lead. The premiere pulled a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49, edging past last year's Happy Endings' opener by two tenths of a point. A special Revenge recap episode grabbed a 1.6 rating with 18-49-ers, giving ABC an average 2.9 adults rating for the night and 8.7 million viewers.

CBS had a new Survivor, down six percent from last week for a 3.0 rating with adults 18-49. Criminal Minds (3.1 adults rating) and CSI (2.5 adults rating) both suffered double digit drops from last year's premieres -- 24 and 22 percent, respectively -- for their lowest premieres to date. The network still topped in viewers, though. CBS had 10.8 million for the night and averaged a 2.8 rating in the demo.

PHOTOS: 'Modern Family' Stars Pick Their Favorite Episodes

The official premieres of Animal Practice and Guys With Kids took steep drops from their preview debuts. Animal Practice opened the night with just a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49, down 42 percent from the comparable Up All Night premiere in the same slot last season, while Guys With Kids posted small growth in the ensuing half-hour for a 1.6 adults rating. Law & Order: SVU, down 13 percent from last year's premiere, still posted its best rating since last November with a 2.1 adults rating. NBC averaged a 1.9 in the demo and 6.4 million viewers.

Univision averaged a 1.5 rating with 18-49-ers for the night.

And on the CW, a new episode of the recently renewed Oh Sit! held its 0.4 rating among adults 18-49, averaging 929,000 viewers over the course of its 8 p.m. broadcast.