Overall: During the week of 11/22/10, a week that included the final nights of the November Sweep leading into the extended Thanksgiving holiday weekend, ABC earned a solid second place in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while holding the #1 position with Adults 25-54 and winning its 4th straight week among key Women demographics (W18-49/W25-54). ABC aired 3 of the Top 10 TV shows for the week in Adults 18-49, placing 2 of the Top 3: DWTS: The Results – #2, DWTS – #3 and Modern Family SP-11/24 – #10. It was ABC’s 10th straight week this season to deliver TV’s #1 unscripted program in the key young adult sales demo. The Net broadcasted the week’s Top 2 most-watched primetime programs overall with the closers of Dancing. In fact with the 11th-season finales of DWTS: The Results on Tuesday and DWTS on Monday, respectively, ABC now claims TV’s Top 2 most-watched entertainment telecasts of the TV Season (any net/any night).
Complete November Sweep (Nielsen’s Most Current data stream): ABC finished a very competitive second in November 2010 with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact in Adults 18-49, ABC beat out a World Series-boosted Fox and ran in a virtual-tie with CBS for #1 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and even in audience share). The Net won the November Sweep for the 5th straight year across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Excluding sports to level the playing field for the boosts that the other nets gained from professional sports coverage (NFL games and overruns/World Series), ABC was a definitive #1 for the 2010 November Sweep in Adults 18-49, outdelivering #2 CBS by 7%, #3 Fox by 29% and #4 NBC by 63%.
Monday: ABC qualified as Monday’s most-watched network for the 10th week in a row, beating CBS by 3.7 million viewers. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars stood as Monday’s #1 TV program in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, turning in the franchise’s strongest Monday finale in 6 seasons – since the Season 5 Monday finale on 11/26/07. DWTS was up by 3.3 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49 compared to its Monday finale the prior year (11/23/09). On average in its 11th season, DWTS improved substantially over its year-ago performance, surging by 3.2 million viewers and by 21% among Adults 18-49. Following DWTS, the series premiere of Skating with the Stars topped NBC’s The Event/Chase and Fox’s Lie to Me by wide margins in its time period among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
Tuesday: ABC towered over the final Tuesday of the November Sweep, ranking a definitive #1 and beating its nearest competitors by 3.9 million viewers (CBS) and by 32% in Adults 18-49 (Fox). Hitting season-highs on the night in viewers and young adults, the Net marked its most-watched Tuesday in 3 years – since 11/27/07. For its 8th consecutive telecast this season, ABC freshman No Ordinary Family pulled in a bigger audience than NBC’s veteran The Biggest Loser from 8-9pm. The new ABC drama also defeated Biggest Loser with key Men (M18-49/M25-54). Opposite stiff competition in Tuesday’s 8pm hour, against the most-watched shows this season on both CBS (NCIS) and Fox (Glee), No Ordinary Family was up week to week in Viewers (+4%) and Adults 18-49 (+6%). Winning its time slot on each of its final 4 telecasts this season in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars: The Results grand finale stood as Tuesday’s #1 TV show by wide margins over CBS’ NCIS and Fox’s Glee, respectively. Actress Jennifer Grey was crowned champion of Season 11 and awarded the coveted mirror ball trophy. Gaining viewers and young adults throughout its 2-hour broadcast, ABC’s Dancing finale attracted 26.5 million viewers and a 6.0/17 in Adults 18-49 during its final half-hour from 10:30-11pm. DWTS: The Results rose sharply over its year-ago finale, jumping by 4.9 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49. In fact in its 11th-season ender, Dancing with the Stars scored its most-watched conclusion in 6 seasons – since 11/27/07.
Wednesday: ABC posted a dominant victory on the final night of the November Sweep among Adults 18-49, beating second-place Fox by 28%, third-place CBS by 35%, fourth-place NBC by 44%. In addition, the Net won the night with 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 viewers (+2.4 million) and young adults (+29%). ABC freshman Better with You ran 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 the 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 1.4 million viewers. Modern Family outdelivered its year-ago performance for the 9th consecutive airing this season, leaping over the same night last year by 3.5 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 the second half-hour of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen. Cougar Town produced substantial gains over its year-ago telecast, climbing by 20% in Total Viewers and by 26% 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 2.3 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.
Friday: On the Friday following Thanksgiving, ABC and Fox tied for the lead among the major nets in Adults 18-49, pacing 9% ahead of CBS and 33% ahead of NBC. ABC was up over the same night last year by 14% in Total Viewers and 9% in Adults 18-49. From 8-10pm, a rebroadcast of the theatrical Happy Feet on the ABC Friday Movie of the Week ranked #1 against its network rivals in the 2-hour time period with AD18-49, AD18-34 and Teens 12-17. The ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Happy Feet stood as the #1 broadcast of the night with Kids 2-11, beating its nearest competition in the time period by 55%. ABC’s 20/20 earned second place in the 10 o’clock hour against its broadcast competitors among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54. The special edition of 20/20 featured Barbara Walters’ interview with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. Despite airing on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the ABC newsmagazine produced its 2nd-most-watched telecast of the season.
Saturday: With coverage of Saturday Night Football (Oklahoma at Oklahoma State or Notre Dame at USC), ABC finished a strong #1 on the evening, beating its nearest competition by 26% in Total Viewers (CBS) and by 83% in Adults 18-49 (CBS and NBC tied). In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC tallied its 2nd biggest Saturday night this season.
(source: ABC)
