ABC Dominates in Adults 18-49 with its Best Pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday in 3 Years. ABC posted a dominant victory on the final night of the November Sweep among Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), beating second-place Fox by 28% (1.8/6), third-place CBS by 35% (1.7/6), fourth-place NBC by 44% (1.6/5). In addition, the Net won the night in Adults 18-34 for the 4th week in a row and in Women 18-34 for the 6th week running.
Jumping over the year-ago night in Total Viewers (+42%) and Adults 18-49 (+35%), ABC marked its top results in on the-night-before Thanksgiving in 3 years (since 2007)…matching its highest young adult number on the evening since 2005.
ABC’s The Middle finished #1 at 8pm in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, beating CBS’ Survivor: Nicaragua. In addition, the ABC sophomore comedy delivered the #1 position in the half-hour in Adults 18-34 for its 3rd consecutive telecast and for its 4th straight airing in Women 18-34.
The Middle rose sharply from its year-ago performance (when it aired at 8:30pm), in both viewers (+2.3 million) and young adults (+24%).
ABC freshman Better with You finished in a virtual tie for #1 at 8:30pm with Survivor in Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point), while defeating NBC’s Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special by 19% and the second half of Fox’s original Human Target by 36%. Better with You ranked #1 in its time slot with Women 18-34.
Standing as Wednesday’s #1 TV show for its 9th straight telecast this season in Adults 18-49, ABC’s Modern Family took full control of 9pm half-hour, beating its closest competitor by 76% (Fox’s original Hell’s Kitchen). The ABC sitcom also finished as the most-watched TV show overall on the final night of the sweep, topping runner-up Criminal Minds by 1.3 million viewers.
Modern Family outdelivered its year-ago performance for the 9th consecutive airing this season, leaping over the same night last year by 3.4 million viewers and by 48% in Adults 18-49.
ABC’s Cougar Town won the 9:30pm half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating out second-place Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen by 14%. The ABC sophomore comedy ran #1 in its slot with Women 18-34 for its 7th consecutive telecast.
Cougar Town produced substantial gains over its year-ago telecast, climbing by 22% in Total Viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49
ABC’s special Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far? won the 10 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, beating the final hour of NBC’s 2-hour The Biggest Loser special by 6%. The special ABC newsmagazine also finished #1 in the hour with Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54).
Versus the year-ago night with original programming, Primetime improved the hour for ABC by 2.4 million viewers and by 64% in Adults 18-49. Excluding only The CMA Awards, the special equaled ABC’s highest Adult 18-49 rating in the time period in 6 months – since 5/26/10.
(source: ABC)
