ABC, CBS and Fox finished in a virtual-tie Thursday

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ABC, CBS and Fox finished in a virtual-tie for the lead on Thursday among Adults 18-49, with one-tenth of a rating point separating the three nets.  ABC once again exhibited strong year-to-year improvement on Thursday, more than doubling its numbers from the same night last summer (7/9/09) among Total Viewers (+137%) and Adults 18-49 (+113%).  The Network registered its 5th straight Thursday of year-to-year primetime gains.


Up against CBS’ season premiere of Big Brother 12, ABC’s Wipeout finished as the most-watched program in the 8 o’clock hour for the 3rd week in a row.  The ABC unscripted series also held the #1 position in the hour Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and key Men (M18-49/M25-54). In fact among viewers and young adults, ABC marked its best-ever performance against the Thursday premiere of Big Brother.    For the 3rd consecutive week, Wipeout qualified as Thursday’s #1 TV series in AD18-49, AD25-54 and key Men (M18-49/M25-54).

TV’s #1 new series of the summer, ABC’s Rookie Blue ran a strong second, against its established series competition on CBS (CSI), NBC (Community/Community) and Fox (So You Think You Can Dance) from 9-10pm, among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.   The new ABC drama ranked as the #1 TV series in the hour for the 3rd week in a row with Men 25-54.  Please Note:  ESPN’s high-rated LeBron James The Decision special aired live in the hour (ET).  Rookie Blue continued to produce big year-to-year gains for ABC in the hour among Total Viewers (+3.8 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+100%), over the Net’s performance on the year-ago night. 

ABC News’ Boston Med took second place in the 10 o’clock hour, against its CBS and NBC competition, with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.  Versus the year-ago night, Boston Med boosted the 10 o’clock hour for ABC by 2.8 million viewers and by 83% in Adults 18-49.    

Based on Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings:

(source: ABC)