* NBC’s 10 p.m. repeat of “SVU” hit a 1.8, beating every new Wednesday episode of “The Jay Leno Show” going back to October. NBC maybe could have saved itself a mint and a lot of affiliate aggravation if they just went to non-Leno repeats at 10 p.m. last autumn. With “The Tonight Show” in repeats, Letterman last week averaged a 1.1 in 18-49, its best score since September and close to what “Leno” was pulling in primetime most nights.
* 9 p.m. competitors “American Idol” and “Modern Family” both rebounded nicely after their first clash last week.
* The collateral damage in that 9 p.m. hour fell on “Criminal Minds,” which has drifted to a below-par 3.6 (its worst score in 11 weeks), and “Cougar Town,” which bled about a third of “Modern Family’s” viewers and hit its second-worst rating in 18-49 to date.
* Conversely, ABC’s “The Middle” hit an all-time personal best and garnered the 8 p.m. hour’s best 18-49 score. This was also the first time a new episode of “The Middle” did better than a new episode of “Cougar Town.” “Modern,” “Cougar” and “Middle” all have early second-season renewals.
* “The Middle” beat “Human Target” in 18-49 at 8:30 but “Target” rebounded slightly from last week and was at least tied for first place in that demo in primetime’s first half-hour.
* CBS’ “Old Christine” – now competing with “Human Target” instead of “So You Think You Can Dance” at 8 p.m. – matched its best score of the season in 18-49. Also at that hour, fourth-place “Mercy” hit its best 18-49 score in two months.
* Comedy Central’s “Tosh.0” hit a season high in 18-49.
* MTV’s “The Real World: DC” hit a season low.
Find James Hibberd’s analysis here.