TWO COMEDIES LIFT ABC TO NO. 1 ON WEDNESDAY

The combination of Modern Family and the new controversial comedy blackish lifted ABC to the top of the ratings among the key 18-49 age group Wednesday night. With ratings for blackish up 8 percent from last week, ABC could breathe a sigh of relief following last week’s slump for the show, which had debuted strongly a week earlier. The network also improved its ratings in the demo for The Middle, The Goldbergs and Nashville. Among total adult viewers, however, CBS remained in the lead for the night, with Criminal Minds edging out Modern Family at 9:00 p.m. and blackish at 9:30 p.m. It was the most-watched show of the night, attracting an average of 10.5 million viewers. At 10:00 p.m. CBS’s Stalker was well out in front of its rivals in both total audience and the key demo.