ABC's new "Neighbors" lost a huge lead-in from "Modern Family" but still scored solid debut numbers Thursday as Fox won the night overall on the strength of "X Factor."
NBC's new "Animal Practice" and "Guys With Kids," meanwhile, were soft in their regular timeslot debuts.
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Fox, which aired "X Factor" throughout primetime, was first in the key 18-49 demographic with a 3.3 rating/9 share and second in total viewers, averaging 9.4 million.
ABC was second in ratings with a 2.9/8 and third in total viewers with 8.7 million. At 8 p.m., "The Middle" returned for the new season with a one-hour episode that scored a 2.8/9 and 9 million total viewers. It was down 10 percent in the demo from its last season premiere. At 9, "Modern Family" returned with a 5.5/15, making it the top rated show of the night, though it was down 8 percent from last season's premiere. The show, which is coming off a slew of Emmy wins Sunday, had 14.2 million total viewers, which also made it the most-watched show of the night. At 9:30, the extraterrestrials-in-the-suburbs comedy "The Neighbors" (pictured) had a 3.3/9, losing 40 percent of its "Modern Family" lead-in — but it was up slightly from the premiere of "Happy Endings" in the same time slot last fall. It had 9.3 million total viewers. (The real test of "The Neighbors" will be how it fares next Wednesday, when it moves to the 8:30 slot before "Modern Family.") At 10, ABC's "Revenge," airing at a special time, had a 1.6/4 and 5.4 million total viewers.
CBS was third in ratings with a 2.8/8 and first in total viewers with 10.8 million. "Survivor: Phillipines" at 8 had a 3.0/9 and 10.2 million total viewers. "Criminal Minds" at 9 had a 3.1/8 and 11.6 million, making it the second-most watched show of the night in total viewers. "CSI" at 10 had a 2.5/7 and 10.7 million.
NBC was fourth in ratings with a 1.9/5 and total viewers with 6.4 million. In its regular timeslot premiere at 8, "Animal Practice" had a 1.4/4 and 5.2 million total viewers. The regular timeslot premiere of "Guys With Kids" at 8:30 had a similarly disappointing 1.6/5 and 4.8 million. A two-hour "Law & Order: SVU" at 9 had a 2.1/6 and 7.1 million.
A preview of "Animal Kingdom" that aired after the Olympics with no commercial interruptions scored a strong 4.1 rating. A previous airing of "Guys With Kids" after "America's Got Talent" scored a 2.2 rating.