MODERN FAMILY TOPS WEDNESDAY RATINGS

Modern Family is giving ABC a potential foothold on Wednesday night. Now, all it has to do is find some additional programs that can benefit from its strong ratings. On Wednesday the show drew 12.9 million viewers and was the highest rated series on the air among total adults and adults 18-49. But the rest of ABC’s lineup, including The Middle, Suburgatory, Happy Endings, and Revenge averaged 8.1 million viewers. CBS won the night, with especially strong showings by Criminal Minds (12.5 million viewers) and Survivor (11.5 million). But Fox controlled the night among younger viewers with Simon Cowell’s The X Factor.