Week 10: ABC finished No. 2 in total viewers and adults 18-49

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Overall: During the week spanning the final nights of the November Sweep and the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (w/o 11/21/11), ABC finished #2 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd week running, beating out NBC and Fox on both measures.  In addition, the Net ranked #1 for the 2nd week in a row across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). ABC claimed 4 of the week’s Top 15 TV shows in Adults 18-49, delivering the Top 2 unscripted telecasts with Dancing and the #1 freshman drama with Once Upon a Time: Modern Family SP-11/23 – #4, DWTS: The Results – #8, Dancing with the Stars – #12 and Once Upon a Time – #15.   The Net aired 3 of the Top 10 most-watched television programs overall for the week, including 2 of the Top 3: DWTS – #2, DWTS: The Results – #3 and Modern Family SP-11/23 – #9.  For the 10th consecutive week of fall 2011, the Net increased its overall audience year to year during the 10 o’clock hour. On average (10 Complete Weeks) on Monday-Friday from 10-11pm as a lead-in to affiliates’ late-local news, ABC is demonstrating double-digit percentage year-to-year growth in Total Viewers (+13%), Adults 18-49 (+12%) and Adults 25-54 (+12%). In fact season to date, ABC remains the only net to show gains on any of the three Nielsen measures.


Monday: Featuring Dancing, You Deserve It and Castle, ABC stood as Monday’s most-watched television network, beating CBS by 1.2 million viewers (HIMYM/2 Broke Girls/Two and a Half Men/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0), Fox by 6.1 million viewers (Terra Nova/House) and NBC by 9.1 million viewers (The Sing Off/Rock Center with Brian Williams). 

ABC qualified as Monday’s #1 network in Total Viewers for the 10th time in 10 weeks this season.  In addition among Adults 18-49, ABC continued to top Fox on Monday (+9%), while more than doubling NBC’s young adult performance on the night (+108%).  With its Monday finale, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars led its hour, taking ABC to the top spot in its time period among Total Viewers in all 10 of its telecasts this season. 

ABC’s broad-skewing dance performance show registered as the #2 broadcast program its time slot in Adults 18-49, while running #1 with Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54).  ABC’s Dancing qualified as Monday’s most-watched TV show overall for its final 7 telecasts of the season.  The series debut of ABC’s You Deserve It topped its unscripted competition in the hour, NBC’s The Sing Off, by 4.1 million viewers and by 13% in Adults 18-49.  For the 9th consecutive telecast this season, ABC’s Castle qualified as Monday’s most-watched scripted show during the 10 o’clock hour.  Castle dwarfed NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams in the hour, more than tripling the NBC newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+203%) and more than doubling its Adult 18-49 number (+156%).  Castle once again registered as Monday’s most-watched drama series, outdrawing CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, Fox’s House and Fox’s Terra Nova. 

Tuesday: ABC finished a solid #1 on the final Tuesday of the November Sweep, leading its nearest competition on the evening by 1.3 million viewers (CBS) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (Fox).  Building its numbers for the 2nd week in a row with Total Viewers (+44%) and Adults 18-49 (+52%), ABC scored season-high results on Tuesday night on both counts.  At 8pm, opposite CBS’ top-rated NCIS, ABC freshman Last Man Standing qualified as the 2nd-most-watched TV show overall in its half-hour for its 6th time in the series’ 7 telecasts, topping Fox’s special The X Factor (+2%) and NBC’s The Biggest Loser 12 (+60%). 

The broad-appealing Tim Allen sitcom widened its winning advantage over NBC’s veteran Biggest Loser to 35% in Adults 18-49, up from a 30% advantage the prior week. Despite facing increased competition in the slot from The X Factor, Last Man Standing rose week to week in viewers (+2%) and young adults (+4%), equaling its top Adult 18-49 number in 4 weeks – since 10/25/11.  The freshman comedy continued to produce sizeable year-to-year growth for ABC in its half-hour, surging by 2.5 million viewers and by 59% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year (w/No Ordinary Family). At 8:30pm, opposite stiff competition from the second half-hours of NCIS and The X Factor, ABC’s Man Up! increased its overall audience for the 2nd week in a row and jumped 12% in Adults 18-49 week to week.  In fact on both counts, the show marked its top numbers in 4 weeks – since 10/25/11.

Surging over its lead-in at 9pm and building throughout its broadcast, ABC’s 13th-season finale of Dancing with the Stars dominated all 4 of its half-hours to emerge as Tuesday’s #1 TV show in viewers and young adults. ABC’s DWTS: The Results overpowered formidable sweep competition throughout its 2-hour broadcast, defeating the second hour of Fox’s 2-hour The X Factor special, CBS’  NCIS: LA and Unforgettable and the second hour of NBC’s The Biggest Loser and Parenthood.  In fact, the veteran ABC unscripted series beat out its combined competition during its final hour, leading the combination of CBS’ Unforgettable and NBC’s Parenthood from 10-11pm by 5.6 million viewers and by 7% in Adults 18-49. Actor and U.S. Army veteran J. R. Martinez was crowned champion of Season 13 and awarded the coveted mirror ball trophy.   Spiking week to week by 30% in viewers and by 46% in young adults, DWTS: The Results closed out with season highs on both Nielsen measures. ABC’s Dancing finale delivered TV’s biggest overall entertainment audience during the 10 o’clock hour for any network on any night in 6 months – since 5/24/11. 

Wednesday: Winning the final 2 nights of the 2011 November Sweep, ABC posted a strong first-place finish on Wednesday night, beating out its nearest competition by 12% in Total Viewers (CBS) and by 35% in Adults 18-49 (Fox). In fact, ABC claimed the Top 2 most-watched TV shows of the evening with Modern Family and The Middle, as both shows outdrew Fox’s The X Factor results show and lead-out Mobbed.

The Net claimed 4 of the Top 5 shows on Wednesday in Adults 18-49, with Modern Family, Happy Endings, The Middle and Suburgatory, respectively. Building sharply over the year-ago night (also an all-original lineup) among Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+17%), ABC marked its highest numbers on the night before Thanksgiving in 4 years – since 2007. At 8pm, ABC’s The Middle won its time period in viewers and young adults, beating out original competition on CBS (Survivor: South Pacific), NBC (Up All Night) and Fox (The X Factor results show). For its 9th straight telecast this season, The Middle grew over its year-ago performance with Adults 18-49 (+14%).

Holding 100% of its lead-in at 8:30pm, ABC’s Suburgatory finished a strong second in its slot in Adults 18-49 to the second half-hour of The X Factor and ranked as the top broadcast show in its time slot with Teens 12-17. For the new ABC comedy’s 8th time in as many airings, Suburgatory generated strong improvement for the Net over the year-ago comedy (Better with You) in the half-hour with viewers (+22%) and young adults (+32%). Building on its lead-in at 9pm to win its time slot by huge margins over its nearest competition, ABC’s Modern Family soared to the top of the night as Wednesday’s #1 TV program in viewers and young adults. In fact, the ABC comedy stood as Wednesday’s #1 TV show with Adults 18-49 for the 9th straight airing this season. Topping its year-ago telecast on each original airing this season, Modern Family surged year to year by 2.1 million viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49). During the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC’s Happy Endings dominated its slot by 37% among Adults 18-49 over its nearest competition (CBS’ Criminal Minds) and nearly doubled the delivery of Fox’s original Mobbed (+86%). Also winning its time period with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, the ABC sophomore comedy registered as the #1 scripted series in its slot for its 8th broadcast. ABC’s Happy Endings improved its slot over the year-ago night with viewers (+9%) and young adults (+13%). From 10-11pm, ABC freshman drama Revenge qualified as the most-watched program overall and ranked #1 for its 4th straight broadcast in Adults 18-49. The new series continued to deliver solid year-to-year growth for ABC in the hour, jumping over the year-ago night with an original Sweep special by 1.4 million viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49.

Thursday: ABC qualified as the 2nd-most-watched broadcast network on Thanksgiving Thursday, outdrawing Fox by 6% and NBC by 74%. ABC posted strong year-over-year gains on Thanksgiving night among Total Viewers (+20%) and Adults 18-49 (+14%). ABC’s special annual rebroadcast of Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ranked #1 versus its broadcast competition during the 8 o’clock hour with Women 18-34 and earned second with Women 18-49, Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. The Charlie Brown holiday special surged ahead of its year-ago telecast by double-digit percentages with viewers (+18%) and young adults (+20%). Building on its repeat The Middle lead-in at 9:30pm (+23%), ABC’s special A Very Gaga Thanksgiving was the #1 non-sports program during its 90-minute time period among Adults 18-49, beating out Fox by 14% and NBC by 60%. A Very Gaga Thanksgiving improved its time slot by wide margins over the year-ago night with an original music special (Beyonce’s I Am World Tour) by 1.3 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49, generating ABC’s best Thanksgiving results in the time period in 4 years – since 2007.

Friday: On the Friday following Thanksgiving, ABC ranked as the 2nd-most-watched network overall to CBS, outdrawing Fox by 10% and NBC by 13%. In addition, ABC outdelivered CBS and NBC on the night by 10% each in Adults 18-49 and topped its network rivals in Adults 18-34, all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and Kids 2-11. From 8-10pm, a rebroadcast of the ABC Friday Movie of the Week – Shrek the Third finished as the most-watched movie on the night, topping Fox’s premiere of Iron Man (8-10pm) and NBC’s encore of National Treasure: Book of Secrets (8-11pm). In the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s 20/20 ranked #1 versus its network rivals with Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. In fact, it qualified as Friday’s #1 TV show among the major networks in the key Adult 25-54 news demo. 20/20 correspondents reported on extreme kids and the parents who allow — and even encourage – kids to pursue such goals or do unconventional things at such an early age. Plus, Jay Schadler reported on a four-legged war hero. 20/20 grew over its performance on the same night last year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend by 9% in Adults 18-49 and by 13% in Adults 25-54.

Saturday: With coverage of Saturday Night Football (Notre Dame at Stanford), ABC easily won Saturday night for the 3rd week in a row in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, outpacing its nearest competition by 2.0 million viewers (CBS) and by 70% in young adults (Fox). In addition, ABC qualified as the #1 network on the evening in Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and across all key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). Airing from 8:06-11:43pm, ABC’s Saturday Night Football stood as the definitive #1 TV show on Saturday among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd week running.

Sunday: During the 7 o’clock hour opposite CBS’ huge 55-minute NFL overrun (Denver-San Diego), ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos was up over its most recent telecast two weeks ago, achieving season highs with viewers and young adults.  In fact, the show drew its biggest audience in nearly 9 months and equaled its highest young adult performance since the beginning of May – since 3/6/11 and 5/1/11, respectively.  Up against sports-fueled competition during the 8 o’clock hour from NBC’s Sunday Night Football game (Pittsburgh-Kansas City) on NBC and CBS’ NFL overrun-driven programming, ABC’s Once Upon a Time returned after being preempted the prior week for the American Music Awards with impressive results.  TV’s #1 new drama in Adults 18-49, Once Upon a Time jumped over its lead-in at 8pm by 3.1 million viewers and by 89% with young adults and gained audience throughout its broadcast.  The wide-appealing ABC freshman series finished #2 in the hour to football with Adults 18-34, while ranking #1 across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and as the #1 broadcast show with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.  In fact, Once Upon a Time stood as Sunday’s #1 entertainment program across the Women demos and as the night’s top-rated broadcast series with Kids.  Spiking over its most recent telecast with Teens 12-17 (+18%) and Kids 2-11 (+31%), Disney-owned Once Upon a Time posted series-high numbers on both Nielsen measures.  From 9-11pm, ABC’s Hallmark Hall of Fame – Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith gained viewers from its first hour to second hour and improved its 2-hour time period over the same night last year by 2.4 million viewers.

(source; ABC)