Overall: ABC opened the first complete week of 2012 with impressive results, claiming TV’s #1 scripted show/comedy with Modern Family, the #1 drama with Grey’s Anatomy and the #1 new drama with Once Upon a Time. In fact on its first original telecast in 2 months, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy turned in the highest rating for any drama telecast on any network this season. During the week of 1/2/12, the Net delivered 9 of the Top 20 non-sports TV shows in Adults 18-49: Modern Family – #1, Grey’s Anatomy – #3, Once Upon a Time – #10, Happy Endings – #13, The Middle and Desperate Housewives tied at #15, Suburgatory – #17, while Private Practice and Wipeout-THURS tied at #19. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC generated its strongest week since November – since w/o 11/21/11 and 11/14/11, respectively.
ABC Season-to-Date Update (16 complete weeks): Versus the same point last season, ABC is retaining 100% of its primetime ratings across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). In the key Adult 18-49 sales demo, ABC airs the season’s #1 drama (Grey’s Anatomy) the season’s #2 comedy/scripted show (Modern Family) and the season’s #1 freshman drama (Once Upon a Time). In addition, the Network is up across the board over the same point last season during the 10 o’clock hour on Monday-Friday, as a lead-in to affiliates’ late-local newscasts: Total Viewers +9%, Adults 25-54 +7% and Adults 18-49 +4%.
Monday: On the New Year’s holiday Monday with the season opener of The Bachelor and a special preview of Celebrity Wife Swap, ABC earned a solid second place among the broadcast networks to CBS’ original lineup, beating out NBC’s original schedule by wide margins with Total Viewers (+73%) and Adults 18-49 (+41%). ABC finished #1 on the night among the broadcasters among Women 18-34.
ABC’s season opener of The Bachelor ranked a competitive #2 in its time period among the broadcast nets to CBS’ first-run comedy block in viewers and young adults. The Bachelor took full control of NBC’s unscripted programming (Who’s Still Standing?/Fear Factor) during the 2-hour time period, leading by 2.0 million viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49. The Bachelor ranked as the #1 broadcaster in its slot among its core audience of Women 18-34. The veteran ABC unscripted series gained audience from its first hour to its second hour, beating NBC’s Fear Factor during the 9pm hour in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, The Bachelor generated ABC’s strongest performance in the 2-hour time period in 6 weeks – since 11/21/11.
Additionally, the show posted the Net’s best Women 18-34 number in the slot since mid-October, representing its 2nd-highest number since season-premiere Monday – since 10/17/11 and 9/19/11, respectively. Holding 96% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in during the 10 o’clock hour, a preview airing of ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap the night before its debut dominated NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams with viewers (+66%) and young adults (+109%). In fact the new ABC series stood as the top broadcast in the hour, beating time period veteran Hawaii Five-0 among Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34. Celebrity Wife Swap built on its lead-in across all key Men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). The Celebrity Wife Swap preview produced ABC’s top Adult 18-34 and Women 18-34 numbers in the hour since September – since 9/26/11 and 9/19/11. In addition, the show improved its time period year to year with Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
Tuesday: Finishing as the 2nd-most-watched broadcaster on Tuesday, ABC drew its biggest audience on the night in 5 weeks and its top young adult number in 6 weeks – since 11/29/11 and 11/22/11, respectively. ABC grew over the same night last year (also an all-original schedule) by 8% in Total Viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49. At 8pm opposite an original of CBS’ top-rated NCIS, ABC freshman Last Man Standing earned second place in its slot, beating out NBC’s season premiere of The Biggest Loser 13 by 1.4 million viewers and by 9% in Adults 18-49. Last Man Standing was up over its most-recent original 3 weeks ago in Total Viewers (+5%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%).
Showing season-best young adult lead-in retention out of Last Man Standing at 8:30pm (83% – best for an original comedy telecast in the half-hour this season) opposite stiff competition, ABC’s debut of Work It was up by double digits over the last episode of Man Up! in the half-hour with Total Viewers (+29%) and Adults 18-49 (+25%), beating the final 6 episodes of the comedy it replaced in the key young sales demo. In addition, Work It improved its half-hour year to year for ABC by 11% in Adults 18-49 over original programming on the same night last year (second half-hour of No Ordinary Family). Building on its lead-in by double-digits among Adults 18-34 (+27%), ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap premiere outdelivered an original airing of V on the same night last year (+8%).
The show also jumped from its lead-in and boosted the hour year over year for ABC by huge margins across all key Women: W18-34 +38%, W18-49 +47% and W25-54 +44%. Despite facing stiff competition from championship college football on ESPN (Allstate Sugar Bowl), the new ABC series surged over its Monday preview across the key Men demos: M18-34 +22%, M18-49 +25% and M25-54 +33%. Returning to original for the first time in 4 weeks, ABC’s Body of Proof built on its lead-in (+17%) to outdraw NBC’s Parenthood in the 10 o’clock hour by 2.1 million viewers. In addition, Body of Proof was the only drama to increase its audience from start to finish in the hour, as CBS’ Unforgettable and NBC’s Parenthood each lost viewers on the half-hour. ABC’s Body of Proof continued to deliver strong year-to-year improvement in the time period, jumping by 35% in Total Viewers and by 25% in Adults 18-49 over an original Detroit 1-8-7 on the year-ago night.
Wednesday: With its schedule returning to originals for the first time in a month, ABC scored a dominant victory on the first Wednesday of 2012, beating out CBS by 1.2 million viewers and by 65% in Adults 18-49. In fact, ABC ran as the top-rated broadcaster in all 6 half-hours of the night in the key sales demo. As the ABC was up across its schedule from the same Wednesday last year (also a night of all originals), the Net surged year over year by 27% in viewers and by 22% in young adults. And despite facing championship college football on ESPN (Discover Orange Bowl), ABC grew by double-digits over the last time its Wednesday lineup was in originals 4 weeks ago (on 12/7/11) in Total Viewers (+12%) and Adults 18-49 (+10%), with all 5 of its series posting gains.
At 8pm, ABC’s The Middle won its half-hour over CBS’ special I Get That A Lot in viewers and young adults. The Middle was up over its most recent original by 1.3 million viewers and by 7% in young adults, marking the series’ 3rd-best results ever. At 8:30pm like its lead-in, ABC’s Suburgatory led its half-hour over the second half-hour of CBS’ I Get That A Lot in viewers and young adults. Rising over its most recent first-run in viewers (+10%) and young adults (+4%), Suburgatory drew its biggest audience in 10 weeks – since 10/26/11. Gaining on its lead-in at 9pm, ABC’s Modern Family registered as Wednesday’s #1 TV show in Adults 18-49 for its 10th consecutive first-run telecast this season. Building on its last original by 15% in viewers and by 12% in young adults, Modern Family attracted its largest audience since its season premiere (series’ 3rd-largest audience ever) and equaled a 12-week high among Adults 18-49 – since 9/21/11 and 10/12/11, respectively.
During the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC’s Happy Endings more than doubled the second half-hour of Fox’s Mobbed premiere in Total Viewers (+121%) and Adults 18-49 (+129%). Surging over its most recent original with viewers (+17%) and young adults (+14%), Happy Endings generated its 3rd-highest-ever numbers. From 10-11pm, ABC freshman drama Revenge finished as the #1 entertainment show in its time period among Adults 18-49. ABC’s Revenge was up over its last first-run telecast in viewers (+11%) and young adults (+4%), hitting a 9-week high with Total Viewers and a 7-week high with Adults 18-49 – since 11/2/11 and 11/16/11, respectively.
Thursday: Returning to a regular Thursday lineup for the first time in 8 weeks (since 11/10/11), ABC turned in a strong first-place finish on the night among Adults 18-49, leading runner-up CBS by 50%. ABC also registered as the most-watched network overall on the evening. Compared to the last time regularly scheduled programming aired on the evening in early-November, ABC’s numbers jumped by 19% in viewers and by 22% in young adults.
Hitting a 15-week high in viewers and young adults, the Net tallied best-since-premiere Thursday numbers – since 9/22/11. During the 8 o’clock hour, ABC’s season premiere of Winter Wipeout earned second in its slot among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while ranking #1 with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Teens 12-17. The ABC unscripted series jumped by 1.0 million viewers and by 25% in Adults 18-49 from its first half-hour to its second half-hour, winning the 8:30pm slot on both counts. Scoring a season-high for ABC in the hour among Adults 18-49, Winter Wipeout produced the Net’s top rating in the slot in nearly 1 year, as well as the series’ strongest overall performance since last January – since 1/13/11.
Winter Wipeout was up sharply over its preview special in the hour last month (on 12/8/11) with viewers (+25%) and young adults (+42%). Earning season-highs and growing over its year-ago telecast, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy registered as Thursday’s #1 TV show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In addition, it was Thursday’s #1 drama with young adults for its 9th consecutive first-run airing this season.
In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Grey’s Anatomy marked the series’ highest strongest in more than 9 months – since 3/31/11. In fact, the show was up over its year-ago telecast with Adults 18-49 (+7%), marking its 2nd-strongest number since October of 2010 – since 10/14/10. Furthermore, Grey’s delivered the highest Adult 18-49 number for any drama telecast on any network this season.
ABC’s Private Practice beat out its network rivals in the 10pm hour among Adults 18-49. In addition, it stood as the #1 drama in Thursday’s 10 o’clock hour for the 9th straight original telecast this season with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34. Building on its most recent original in mid-November (on 11/17/11) by 7% in Total Viewers and by 4% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s Private Practice drew its biggest audience since its season premiere in September – since 9/29/11.
Friday: Jumping week to week in Total Viewers (+49%) and Adults 18-49 (+40%), ABC hit an 11-week high on Friday night despite facing the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Fox – since 10/21/11. In fact, it was the Net’s 2nd-strongest Friday night this season on both Nielsen measures. At 8 o’clock, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition took second against its non-sports broadcast competition, beating NBC’s first-run Chuck by 2.1 million viewers and by 56% in Adults 18-49. Up sharply over its most recent telecast 3 weeks ago, Home Edition generated season-highs for ABC in the time period with viewers (+15%) and young adults (+17%). Building on its lead-in at 9pm, a second installment of Home Edition ran neck-and-neck with CBS’ original CSI: NY among Adults 18-49 (pacing within 2-tenths of a rating point and tied in audience share), while beating the CBS drama by 10% among Adults 18-34. Scoring its 2nd-highest-ever numbers on Friday, Home Edition turned in a best-since-premiere performance on the evening with viewers and young adults – since 10/21/11. During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s 20/20 registered as Friday’s most-watched newsmagazine, outdrawing NBC’s Dateline in head-to-head competition in the time period. ABC’s 20/20 featured Chris Cuomo’s report on a family ripped apart by junk science. 20/20 built over its most recent telecast 2 weeks ago by 9% in Total Viewers, by 30% in Adults 18-49 and by 29% in Adults 25-54. The ABC newsmagazine marked its best numbers on the night since mid-November with Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 – since 11/11/11 .
Saturday: The ABC News Your Voice, Your Vote – Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire on Saturday, January 7 drew an average audience of 6.27 million viewers, 1.74 million Adults 25-54 and 1.40 million Adults 18-49. The ABC debate aired live across the country and was Saturday’s #1 non-sports program in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54. The ABC News debate aired against NBC’s high rated NFL Wild Card Game (Detroit vs. New Orleans) and topped both CBS and Fox in the 2-hour time period – 9-11pm/ET; 6-8pm/PT. The ABC Your Voice, Your Vote special outperformed the most-recent Republican debate on Fox News Channel (on 12/15/11) among Adults 18-49. In fact, along with the Republican Presidential Debate in Iowa (on 12/10/11), the Net has aired the Top 2 debates of the campaign season in Adults 18-49. The ABC News “Your Voice, Your Vote – Republican Presidential Debate in Iowa” on Saturday, December 10 stands as the most-watched debate of the 2012 campaign season.
Sunday: Opposite a sports-propelled CBS with its enormous overtime NFL Wild Card playoff overrun (Pittsburgh Steelers-Denver Broncos) that went into the 8 o’clock hour, ABC earned a solid second place in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, beating NBC (+16%/+77% – including the high-profile debut of The Firm) and Fox by strong margins (+78%/+21%). In viewers and young adults, ABC marked its strongest Sunday with regular programming in 8 weeks – since 11/13/11.
During the 7 o’clock hour against the NFL overrun on CBS, ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos stood as the #1 non-sports program, surging from its first half-hour to its second half-hour by nearly 1.0 million viewers and by 25% among Adults 18-49. Despite facing the tail-end of the NFL playoff game, ABC freshman drama Once Upon a Time catapulted over its lead-in at 8pm (+4.5 million viewers/+164% in AD18-49) and gained audience through its broadcast to finish a dominant #1 against its non-sports-driven competition, beating NBC and Fox.
Sunday’s #1 scripted show in Adults 18-49, ABC’s Once Upon a Time beat out the second hour of NBC’s 2-hour Dateline by 147% and Fox’s first-run animated comedies (The Simpsons/The Cleveland Show) by 61% from 8-9pm. Television’s #1 new drama this season with young adults, Once Upon a Time continued to produce impressive year-over-year time-period improvement for ABC, improving over original programming on the year-ago night by 11% in Total Viewers and by 37% in Adults 18-49. Returning to original for the first time 4 weeks, Once Upon a Time was up by double digits over its last first-run broadcast (on 12/11/11) in Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+28%), marking its best results since November on both counts – since 11/27/11 and 11/13/11, respectively.
In addition, the Disney-owned drama achieved a series high with Teens 12-17, shooting up by 53% over its last original telecast. Ranking #1 in the 9 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49, ABC’s Desperate Housewives towered over the opening hour of NBC’s The Firm by 2.0 million viewers and by 100% in Adults 18-49. On its first airing since the beginning of December, Housewives built by 7% in viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49 from its last telecast (on 12/4/11), equaling its highest young adult rating since October – since 10/30/11.
(source; ABC)
