Up by 14%, ABC is the Only Major Net to Gain Viewers Over the Year-Ago Week.
ABC Delivers 8 of the Week’s Top 20 Non-Sports TV Telecasts Among Adults 18-49, Placing 2 of the Top 3 Scripted Series with “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Modern Family”.
ABC is the Clear Non-Sports Winner on Monday, Against ESPN’s Record-Setting BCS National Title Game, Leading CBS by 1.0 Million Viewers and by 25% in Adults 18-49.
ABC’s “The Bachelor” Stands as Monday’s No. 1 TV Series in Young Adults and Key Women, Building on its Week-Earlier Debut with its Core Women 18-34 Audience.
ABC’s New Tuesday Lineup Posts Sizable Increases Year to Year In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Straight Week.
Winning the Night with Year-Over-Year Gains in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC is No. 1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Consecutive Week.
Dominating its Slot and Finishing No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 4th Week in Row, ABC’s “The Middle” Achieves New Series-Highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
Airing at Various Times Across the Country, ABC’s “Modern Family” Is Wednesday’s No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 for its 12th Straight Original.
ABC’s “Off the Map” Opens with Big Time Period Improvement in Viewers and Young Adults, Scoring 15-Month Highs for the Net in Wednesday’s 10pm Hour.
ABC Wins Thursday Evening Among Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Week in a Row.
ABC’s “Wipeout” is No. 1 in its Slot in Viewers, All Key Adult Demos and Teens, While Building on its Week-Ago Winter Debut in Adults 18-34 and Men 18-34.
Hitting its Best Viewer and Young Adult Numbers Since October, ABC’s “Grey’s” Stands as the No. 1 Series in its Slot in Adults 18-49 for its 12th Straight Original.
ABC’s “Off the Map” Repeat is the No. 1 Scripted Show in Thursday’s 10p Hour with Adults 18-49, Building on the Prior Night’s Series Debut in All Key Women Demos.
Up Against Fox’s Huge NFL Playoff Game, ABC’s “Miss America Pageant” Finishes a Definitive No. 1 on Saturday Against its Non-Sports Competition.
Surging by 49% Year to Year to its Best Results Since 2004, ABC’s “Miss America Pageant” Draws the Net’s Top Non-Sports Audience in the Time Slot in 21 Months.
WEEK No. 17:
During the week of January 10, 2011, as CBS and Fox were driven by big post-season NFL games, ABC beat out a “Golden Globe”-boosted NBC in both Total Viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.0/5).
Rankings: ABC delivered 8 of the week’s Top 20 non-sports TV telecasts in Adults 18-49, including 2 of the Top 3 scripted programs with “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Modern Family”: “Grey’s Anatomy” – No. 3 (No. 2 scripted), “Modern Family” – No. 5 (No. 3 scripted), “Wipeout” – No. 7, “Modern Family SP-1/12” – No. 11, “Desperate Housewives” – No. 14, “The Middle” – No. 16, “The Bachelor” – No. 19 and “The Middle SP-1/12” – No. 20.
Gaining 14% year to year, ABC was the only major net to grow its overall audience from the same week last year (7.3 million vs. 6.4 million). CBS, NBC and Fox each came in below the comparable year-ago week in both viewers and young adults. The Network was also up from the same week last year with Adults 25-54, key Men (M18-49/M25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.
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 39% currently, from 35% 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.
Monday
Opposite ESPN’s record-setting coverage of the BCS National Title college football game, registering as the most-watched cable telecast in history, ABC was the clear non-sports winner on Monday night, beating its nearest competition (CBS) by 1.0 million viewers (8.7 million vs. 7.7 million) and 25% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 vs. 2.0/5).
“The Bachelor” (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC’s “The Bachelor” defeated its regular competition in its 2-hour time period with Total Viewers (8.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7), standing as Monday’s No. 1 TV series in the key young adult sales demo. The veteran ABC unscripted program also finished as the evening’s highest-rated series with Adults 18-34 and all key Women demos (W18-34/W218-49/W25-54)…the night’s No. 1 TV show for the 2nd week in a row with Women 18-34.
Despite facing the demographic draw of the football game on ESPN, “The Bachelor” retained nearly all of its week-ago season premiere Adult 18-49 audience (97% – 2.8/7 vs. 2.9/7), and was up over its season opener among its core audience of Women 18-34 (+3% – 3.8/10 vs. 3.7/10).
“Castle” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in by 7% among Viewers, ABC’s “Castle” took top honors against its regular competition in the 10 o’clock hour, outpacing runner-up CBS by 2.5 million viewers (9.1 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 40% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 vs. 1.5/4).
Tuesday
With its mid-season Tuesday drama lineup, ABC continued to deliver substantial year-to-year gains on the evening, surging over the year-ago night (1/12/10) by 2.3 million viewers (5.5 million vs. 3.1 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.0/3).
“No Ordinary Family” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In the 8:00 p.m. hour against established original competition on both CBS (“NCIS”) and NBC (“The Biggest Loser: Couples”), ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” improved its time period by impressive margins in Total Viewers (+130% – 5.3 million vs. 2.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+88% – 1.5/4 vs. 0.8/2) over the same night last year.
“V” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in among viewers (+9%) and young adults (+27%) against CBS’ original “NCIS: Los Angeles” and the second hour of NBC’s 2-hour “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” ABC’s “V” defeated Fox’s “Million Dollar Money Drop” in Total Viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.8/5). Despite increased competition in the hour this week from a first-run airing of CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles,” ABC’s “V” showed strong retention of its week-ago season opener in Total Viewers (88%) and Adults 18-49 (90%).
“Detroit 1-8-7” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s freshman “Detroit 1-8-7” grew its 10 o’clock time slot year to year for the Net by 19% in Total Viewers (5.3 million vs. 4.3 million), from the same night last year with original drama programming.
Wednesday
With 2 repeat and 2 original comedies scheduled around the Tucson Memorial, and the series debut of “Off the Map” from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC won Wednesday night by wide margins over its nearest competition (NBC) in Total Viewers (+2.7 million – 9.1 million vs. 6.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+58% – 3.0/8 vs. 1.9/5). In fact the Network finished No. 1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd week in a row.
ABC marked its 2nd-highest-rated Wednesday this season in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, trailing only the night of its “CMA Awards” telecast in November.
The Net was up sharply over the same night last year (5.8 million and 2.2/6 on 1/13/10) in both viewers (+57%) and young adults (+36%).
“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
Starting off the evening with a dominant victory at 8:00 p.m., ABC’s “The Middle” marked its 4th consecutive week as the No. 1 TV show in its half-hour among Adults 18-49 (3.0/9). The ABC sophomore comedy was also the most-watched (10.1 million) television show overall in its half-hour for the 2nd week in a row.
Building its numbers week to week, “The Middle” hit series-highs in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
“Modern Family” (9:20-9:51 p.m. ET)
Airing at different times across various time zones, ABC’s “Modern Family” qualified as Wednesday’s No. 1 TV show for its 12th straight first-run airing this season in Adults 18-49 (4.2/11). The ABC sophomore comedy was also the evening’s most-watched TV series overall (11.1 million) for the 2nd week running.
“Off the Map” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC’s series debut of “Off the Map” delivered big time period improvement for the Net, bringing 73% more Total Viewers (7.6 million vs. 4.4 million) and 92% more Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 1.2/4) to the hour over its performance with regular programming this season. In fact among young adults, the new show beat out the season averages of ABC’s last 7 drama series that have aired in the time period.
In viewers and young adults, “Off the Map” achieved 15-month time-period highs for ABC with regular programming in the hour – since 9/23/09.
The new ABC drama earned second place in the hour among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, handily beating CBS’ programming (+13% in viewers and +53% in AD18-49 over “Live to Dance”/”The Defenders” = 6.7 million and 1.5/4), and ranked No. 1 against its network rivals across key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) and Teens 12-17.
Thursday
ABC won Thursday night in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row, topping CBS’ lineup by 43% (3.3/9 vs. 2.3/7).
“Wipeout” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Wipeout” scored a win in the 8 o’clock hour in both Total Viewers (10.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/11), leading its time period for the 2nd straight week in the key young adult demo. The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series also ranked No. 1 in the hour with Adults 18-34 (3.1/10), Adults 25-54 (4.2/11) and Teens 12-17 (2.9/11).
“Wipeout” retained 91% in Total Viewers and 97% in Adults 18-49 from its week-ago season premiere, while building on its debut in Adults 18-34 (+3%) and Men 18-34 (+8%). In fact, “Wipeout” registered the Net’s best Adults 18-34 (3.1/10) and Men 18-34 (2.7/9) non-sports numbers in the hour in well over 1 year – since 10/1/09.
“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” dominated Thursday’s 9 o’clock hour in both Total Viewers (12.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.3/12), qualifying as the No. 1 series in the slot for its 12th consecutive original telecast this season. Building its performance for the 2nd straight original telecast, “Grey’s” saw its best numbers in viewers and young adults (tie) since October – 10/7/10 and 10/14/10, respectively.
“Off the Map” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
An encore presentation of ABC’s “Off the Map” ranked as the No. 1 scripted show in the 10 o’clock hour with Adults 18-49 (2.0/6).
The rebroadcast of “Off the Map” retained 87% from the previous night’s series debut, while building on its premiere across each of the key Women demographics: Women 18-34 (+5%), Women 18-49 (+4%), Women 25-54 (+3%).
Saturday
“DSW Presents The Miss America Pageant” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Up against Fox’s huge NFL NFC Divisional Playoff Game (Green Bay-Atlanta) on Saturday night, ABC’s 9:00-11:00 p.m. broadcast of “The Miss America Pageant” made it the definitive No. 1 non-sports network in the time period with Total Viewers (6.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.6/5).
Gaining audience throughout its 2-hour telecast, “The Miss America Pageant” surged by 2.5 million viewers from its first half-hour to its final half-hour (5.3 million to 7.8 million). In fact during its final half-hour from 10:30-11:00 p.m., ABC defeated its nearest non-sports competitor (CBS’ original “48 Hours Mystery”) by 47% in Total Viewers (7.8 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 64% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.1/3).
With “The Miss America Pageant,” ABC drew its largest non-sports audience in the 2-hour time period in more than 21 months – since 4/11/09.
Growing year over year by 49% in Total Viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (4.5 million and 1.4/4 on 1/30/10), ABC’s broadcast of “The Miss America Pageant” generated the program’s top numbers since 2004.
ABC’s telecast of “Miss America” beat out NBC’s most recent telecast of “Miss USA” by 1.4 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (5.3 million and 1.4/4 on 5/16/10).
WEEK NO. 17: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 FOX 3.7 No.1 CBS 11,900,000
No.2 CBS 2.9 No.2 FOX 10,320,000
No.3 ABC 2.1 No.3 ABC 7,290,000
No.4 FOX 2.0 No.4 NBC 6,360,000
No.5 CW 0.5 No.5 CW 1,320,000
(Source: ABC – The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 1/10/11, unless stated otherwise)
