Growing from its Lead-in and Gaining Audience Throughout its Debut, “Scoundrels” Generates Double-Digit Time Period Gains for ABC in Viewers and Young Adults,
Building on its Lead-in to Rank No. 1 in Adults 18-49, ABC’s Debut of “The Gates” Posts the Net’s Top Summer Number with Regular Programming at 10pm Since ’06.
“The Gates” Qualifies as TV’s Top-Rated Scripted Summer Debut in 1 Year In Adults 18-49 and Marks ABC’s Best Summer Scripted Opener in 5 Years.
“Scoundrels” (9:00-10:00 p.m.) Building on its lead-in against the conclusion of NBC’s high-rated U.S. Open Golf Tournament coverage on Father’s Day in viewers and young adults and gaining audience throughout its debut airing in the 9 o’clock hour, the series opener of “Scoundrels” (5.2 million) made ABC the second-most-watched network overall to a sports-driven NBC.
“Scoundrels” improved the hour year to year by double-digits for ABC in Total Viewers (+16% – 5.2 million vs. 4.5 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+18% – 1.3/4 vs. 1.1/3), over original programming on the year-ago night (“ABC Premiere Event – Impact Part 1” on 6/21/09).
“The Gates” (10:00-11:00 p.m.) Growing from its lead-in at 10:00 p.m. by 15% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s series debut of “The Gates” (1.5/5) finished a strong No. 1 against its network competition in the hour, beating CBS by 50% (1.0/3) and NBC by 67% (0.9/3).
“The Gates” boosted the hour for ABC over the year-ago night by 25% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.2/4), pulling the Net’s top summer rating in the time slot since 2006 – since 9/3/06.
In Adults 18-49, “The Gates” stands as TV’s top-rated summer scripted series debut in 1 year and ABC’s highest in 5 years – since 6/24/09 and 6/28/05, respectively.
A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 37% currently, from 32% at the same point in 2009. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.
(Source: ABC – The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 6/20/10)
