Ratings: ‘Survivor’ beats ‘American Idol,’ ‘The Voice’; ‘Criminal Minds’ spin-off pilot okay

Remember the days when singing competitions dominated all of television? Well, those days do appear to be done now. While “Survivor” has been defeating “American Idol” frequently the past couple of years, it dominated it Wednesday night with a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demo compared to a 1.4. Meanwhile, “The Voice” posted a 2.1 for its first results show of the season. This is a pretty enormous win for CBS no matter how you slice it; “Survivor” has been on the air even longer than “American Idol,” and yet it still manages to stay consistent year after year.

So why does this show continue to draw such enormous numbers? One of the biggest reasons why is that this show is not having to rely on some like talent, where there is a very limited pool of good singers. There are always interesting people to cast on “Survivor,” and you’re only getting 18-20 of them a season. This means that only a select few hundred people have been on this show, especially when you consider returning-player seasons.

Also, the show has going for it the simple fact that there is no real equivalent out there, so the concept is not burned to the ground. It’s also an hour a week, a refreshing change to the two to three hours you spend watching a show like “The Voice” or “American Idol.” If they want a larger audience in time, going back to an hour may be something to consider.

Elsewhere, the “Criminal Minds” backdoor pilot for “Beyond Borders” ended up drawing a 2.0 rating in its own right, which is solid but not necessarily spectacular. You can read our review of the episode here, but we don’t feel like this number in itself necessarily justifies that the show should be brought back for more.

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