Nellie Andreeva

After taking a break on Tuesday where it would’ve clashed with Glee, the scripted series that helped it get on the air, NBC’s reality series The Sing-Off returned last night for its second airing. It averaged a 2.6/7 in adults 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers overall from 8-10 PM, down 7% from the Monday premiere but a season high for the network in the slot. The a cappella singing competition was up 24% from  the same Wednesday night last year and flat with its second episode, which aired on Tuesday last December. A rerun of Law & Order: Special Victim Unit (1.8/5, 6.2 million) ran at 10 PM, the series’ new permanent home as of Jan. 5.

ABC’s comedy block was down across the board: The Middle (2.5/7) was down 11% to tie its season low, Better With You (2.2/6) was down 4%, Modern Family (4.1/11) was down 15% for a season low and Cougar Town (2.6/7) was down 13%, also a season low. Modern Family still ranked as the highest-rated program of the night in the 18-49 demo. Like NBC, ABC’s lineup in the 10 PM hour was a dry run for midseason when it will feature comedies. Repeats of Modern Family (1.9/5) and Cougar Town (1.3/4) last night outperformed significantly the original Whole Truth (0.9/3) in the hour last week.

CBS’ Survivor: Nicaragua (3.6/10) was flat with last week, Criminal Minds (3.5/9) was down 8% from its last original on Nov. 17, while The Defenders (2.0/6) was up 5% from last week. All 3 CBS series won their time slots in 18-49 and total viewers, leading to another easy Wednesday win for the network in both categories (3.0/9, 12.3 million). NBC (2.4/7, 7.1 million) and ABC (2.4/7, 7 million) were tied for second in the demo, with NBC as the solo No.2 in viewers by a small margin.

Fox’s Human Target (1.6/5) was flat with last week while Hell’s Kitchen (2.3/6) was down 12%. It was a synergy night at the CW, which reran CBS‘ Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.