ABC Takes Second to an “Idol”-Driven Fox on Wednesday in Adults 18-34 and Builds its Overall Audience on the Night Year to Year for the 2nd Week in a Row.
From 8-9pm, ABC’s Back-to-Back Original and Repeat Airings of “The Middle” Dominate NBC’s Original “Minute To Win It” in Viewers and Adults 18-49.
Posting its Best Results in 6 Weeks, ABC’s “Modern Family” is Wednesday’s No. 1 Scripted TV Show in Adults 18-49 for its 18th Consecutive Original.
Opposite the Final Half-Hour of “American Idol,” ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” Jumps Week to Week by 22% in Adults 18-49 to Rank No. 2 in its Slot.
Against Original Drama Competition at 10pm, ABC’s “Off the Map” Hits its Best Results in 3 Weeks in Viewers and Adults 18-49, with a 6-Week High in Adults 18-34.
Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC earned second place to Fox with a 2-hour Idol on Wednesday night among Adults 18-34 (1.8/6), beating CBS by 20% (1.5/5) and NBC by 38% (1.3/4).
ABC grew its overall audience from the same night last year by 5% (6.5 million vs. 6.2 million on 3/24/10), building year to year for the 2nd week in a row.
“The Middle”/”The Middle” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m., against the first hour of Fox’s “American Idol” and CBS’ “Survivor: Redemption Island,” ABC’s back-to-back original and repeat airings of “The Middle” dominated NBC’s original “Minute To Win It,” outdelivering the NBC game show by 55% in Total Viewers (6.5 million vs. 4.2 million) and by 58% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.2/4).
“Modern Family” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in at 9pm against the third half-hour of Idol, ABC’s “Modern Family” ran a strong No. 2 in its half-hour with viewers (10.8 million) and young adults (4.3/12) to finish as Wednesday’s No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49 for its 18th straight first-run telecast this season.
Up over its most-recent original telecast 3 weeks ago (10.1 million and 4.1/11 on 3/2/11) in viewers (+7%) and young adults (+5%), “Modern Family” turned in its strongest results in 6 weeks – since 2/9/11. In fact the ABC sophomore comedy put up its 2nd-highest-ever numbers against an installment of “American Idol.”
Surging year to year, “Modern Family” topped its year-ago performance by 1.6 million viewers and by 16% in Adults 18-49 (9.2 million and 3.7/10 on 3/24/10).
“Mr. Sunshine” (9:30-10:00 p.m.)
Airing against the final segment of “Idol” in the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” delivered the No. 2 position in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6-tie) and key Men: M18-49 (1.9/5) and M25-54 (2.3/6-tie).
Jumping week to week by 1.4 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 4.5 million) and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.8/5), “Mr. Sunshine” posted its best numbers in 3 weeks – since 3/2/11.
“Off the Map” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o’clock hour against original dramas on CBS (“Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior”) and NBC (“Law & Order: SVU”), ABC’s “Off the Map” turned in its strongest results in 3 weeks, growing over the prior week by 7% in Total Viewers (4.5 million vs. 4.2 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.3/4). In addition, the ABC freshman drama equaled a 6-week high with Adults 18-34 (1.2/4) – since 2/9/11.
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 40% currently, from 36% 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: ABC – The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 3/23/11)
