Bolstered by a big turnout for the premiere of Secret Millionaire and strong gains for Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, ABC won Sunday evening in Adults 18-49, beating out runner-up CBS by 13%.
ABC generated its most-watched Sunday since May with regular programming on the night – since 5/16/11.
Launching from its lead-in at 8pm in Total Viewers (+4.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+83%), ABC’s debut of Secret Millionaire opened as Sunday’s most-watched TV show overall (12.6 million).
In addition it was the night’s #2 TV show in Adults 18-49 (3.3/9), behind only ABC’s Desperate Housewives (3.4/8), which hit a 8-week high in the key sales demo.
Towering over Sunday’s 8 o’clock hour, ABC’s Secret Millionaire defeated its nearest competition (CBS’ Amazing Race) by 2.8 million viewers and by 22% in Adults 18-49.
In addition, it beat out its debut competition in the hour on NBC, more than doubling America’s Next Great Restaurant by 8.0 million viewers and by 106% in Adults 18-49. A good sign for future viewing, the new ABC unscripted show gained audience throughout its telecast.
Excluding only Olympic and Super Bowl-led debuts, Secret Millionaire stood as TV’s biggest unscripted midseason premiere in 3 years with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 – since 3/2/08.
Secret Millionaire generated ABC’s largest audience with regular programming in the time period since March 2008 and its top Adult 18-49 number since November 2009 – since 3/30/08 and 11/15/09.
(source: ABC)
