ABC wins Wednesday among Adults 18-49

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Repeat “Modern Family” is the Night’s No. 1 TV Show


ABC’s “The Middle,” “Suburgatory” and “Happy Endings” Score Series Highs,
While “Modern Family” Generates its Strongest-Ever Repeat Performance

Posting its 2nd-Highest-Ever Numbers, “Revenge” Delivers Enormous Year-to-Year Time Slot Gains to Stand as ABC’s Most-Watched Series in the Hour in Over 4 Years

Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With its 2-hour Halloween-themed comedy block (including a repeat “Modern Family”) leading into “Revenge,” ABC finished a dominant No. 1 on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49, leading runner-up CBS by 22% (3.3/9 vs. 2.7/8).  For the 6th week running this season, ABC delivered Wednesday’s No. 1 TV show among Adults 18-49 with “Modern Family.”     

The Net exhibited substantial year-to-year gains on the evening for the 6th consecutive week, jumping over the year-ago Wednesday’s all-original lineup (10/27/10) in viewers (+20% – 9.5 million vs. 7.9 million) and young adults (+22% – 3.3/9 vs. 2.7/8).

 ABC marked its 2nd-most-watched Wednesday this season – best since season-premiere Wednesday (on 9/21/11).

“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
Hitting series highs at 8:00 p.m., ABC’s “The Middle” finished a strong No. 2 in its slot to CBS’ “Survivor:  South Pacific” in viewers (10.2 million) and young adults (3.1/10), while ranking a definitive No. 1 in the half-hour and beating the CBS reality show by wide margins in Adults 18-34 (+26%) and Women 18-34 (+50%).  

Posting its 4th straight week of Adult 18-49 growth, ABC’s “The Middle” posted series-high numbers in Total Viewers and all key Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).

Rising year to year for the 6th week running, “The Middle” bettered its year-ago broadcast (9.5 million and 2.9/9) in viewers (+7%) and young adults (+7%).

“Suburgatory” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Building on its Adult 18-49 lead-in for its 6th straight broadcast at 8:30 p.m. (+10%) to achieve a series high, ABC’s “Suburgatory” tied CBS’ “Survivor” to finish No. 1 in the half-hour for the first time with Adults 18-49 (3.4/9).  The new ABC comedy also won its time period among Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

“Suburgatory” scored series highs in Total Viewers, young Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49) and Kids 2-11.  In fact, the freshman comedy generated ABC’s top series performance in the half-hour in nearly 2-1/2 years with Adults 18-49 – since 5/27/09.

“Suburgatory” once again generated big improvement for the Net over the year-ago time period occupant (“Better with You”) in viewers (+27% – 9.8 million vs. 7.7 million) and young adults (+36% – 3.4/9 vs. 2.5/7). 
    
“Modern Family” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Increasing from its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. to dominate its slot with Adults 18-49 by 63% over CBS’ encore “Criminal Minds” (4.4/12 vs. 2.7/7), ABC’s repeat “Modern Family” registered as the evening’s No. 1 TV program for the 6th straight week. 

Showing impressive retention of its year-ago original telecast in viewers (87%) and young adults (86%), ABC’s “Modern Family” posted its strongest-ever repeat performance.  The third-year ABC comedy surpassed its previous encore highs (on 2/2/11) by 24% in Total Viewers (11.4 million vs. 9.2 million) and by 26% in Adults 18-49 (4.4/12 vs. 3.5/9). 

“Happy Endings” (9:30-10:00 p.m.)
In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC sophomore “Happy Endings” won its slot in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9), while finishing as the No. 1 series in its slot for the 4th week running in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.   

Jumping week to week in viewers (+22% – 8.3 million vs. 6.8 million) and young adults (+17% – 3.5/9 vs. 3.0/7), ABC’s “Happy Endings” hit series highs.  In fact it was the 2nd time in 3 weeks for the ABC sophomore comedy to post series-best results in the key young adult sales demo.

“Revenge” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its Total Viewer lead-in during the 10 o’clock hour, ABC freshman drama “Revenge” took first place in its time period in Adults 18-49.   In addition, “Revenge” was the No. 1 series in the hour for its 6th consecutive airing with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

Growing week to week in viewers (+9% – 8.7 million vs. 8.0 million) and young adults (+12% – 2.8/7 vs. 2.5/7), ABC’s “Revenge” produced the series’ 2nd-highest numbers ever.   Continuing to show forward momentum, the new ABC drama marked its 3rd consecutive week of Total Viewer gains.

For the freshman series’ 6th straight telecast, “Revenge” tallied huge time-period improvement for ABC, catapulting over the year-ago night (“The Whole Truth” = 4.4 million and 1.1/3) in viewers (+98%) and young adults (+155%).  “Revenge” continues to qualify as ABC’s most-watched series during Wednesday’s 10 o’clock hour in more than 4 years – since “Lost” during the 2006-07 TV Season.

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 42% currently, from 38% at the same point in 2010.  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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 10/26/11.

(Source: ABC)