Week 21: ABC airs 4 of the top 20 shows in Adults 18-49

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ABC Increases its Overall Audience from the Same Week Last Year, While Producing its Top Results in 4 Weeks with Viewers and Young Adults.


ABC Airs 4 of the Top 20 Shows in Adults 18-49, Claiming TV’s No. 1 Scripted Series with “Modern Family” and the No. 1 Freshman Series with “Mr. Sunshine”.

ABC Generates its Biggest Monday in 11 Weeks in Viewers and Adults 18-49. 

Building for the 4th Straight Week, “The Bachelor” Hits a Season High in Viewers.

Up Over its Most Recent Original, ABC’s “Castle” Beats NBC’s “Harry’s Law” in Viewers and Young Adults, Equaling its Top Adult 18-49 Number in 3 Months. 

Against Stiff Competition, ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” Grows its Hour Year to= Year And is the Season’s No. 1 Scripted TV Show on the Major Nets in Family Coviewing.

Building on its Lead-in, ABC’s “V” is Up Week to Week by 6% in Adults 18-49.

Continuing to Grow, ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” Posts a 2-Month High in Adults 18-49.
 
“The Middle” Generates its Highest-Ever Numbers Against “American Idol”.

ABC’s “Modern Family” Achieves Series-Highs and Registers as Wednesday’s No. 1 Scripted TV Show in Adults 18-49 for its 14th Straight Original Airing.

“Mr. Sunshine” Stands as ABC’s Top Midseason Scripted Debut in Over 3 Years.
 
With its Biggest Audience in 3 Weeks, ABC’s “Off the Map” Continues to Produce Substantial Year-Over-Year Increases in Wednesday’s 10pm Hour.

ABC’s “Wipeout” Stands as the No. 1 Show for Family Coviewing This Season.

ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” Leads its Hour by Strong Margins in Adults 18-49 And Qualifies as Thursday’s No. 1 Scripted TV Show for the 2nd Week in a Row.

ABC’s “Private Practice” is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults.

ABC’s “20/20” Marks its Most-Watched Telecast in Over 2 Months, Dominates NBC’s Competing “Dateline” and Stands as Friday’s No. 1 Show in Adults 18-49.

ABC’s “Housewives” Qualifies as Sunday’s Most-Watched Scripted TV Show.

WEEK No. 21:

WEEK NO. 21:   ADULTS 18-49        TOTAL VIEWERS
              No.1  CBS 3.4   No.1 CBS    13,100,000
              No.2  FOX 3.3   No.2 FOX     9,340,000
              No.3  ABC 2.1   No.3 ABC     6,870,000
              No.4  NBC 1.6   No.4 NBC     5,730,000
              No.5  CW  0.8   No.5 CW      1,800,000

During the week of February 7, 2011, ABC claimed 4 of the Top 20 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including the No. 1 scripted show and the No. 1 freshman series with “Modern Family” and “Mr. Sunshine,” respectively:  “Modern Family” – No. 4, “Grey’s” – No. 10, “Mr. Sunshine” – No. 13 and “The Bachelor” – No. 18.  In addition to standing as the week’s top rookie series in Adults 18-49, ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” opened as the Net’s highest-rated midseason scripted debut in more than 3 years.   On Monday ABC’s “The Bachelor” grew its overall audience for the 4th week running, hitting season highs in viewers and young adults.   On Wednesday ABC’s “Modern Family” marked series-high numbers in viewers and young adults.  On Thursday ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” stood as the night’s No. 1 scripted show in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row, and finished as the week’s No. 1 scripted series overall in Women 18-49. 

Building its young adult audience for the 2nd consecutive week, ABC marked its best performance in 4 weeks with viewers and young adults – since w/o 1/10/11.

ABC grew its overall audience by 5% over the same week last year (6.9 million vs. 6.6 million).

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
Despite going up against CBS’ original schedule and Fox’s Super Bowl-promoted lineup (“House” into the series debut of “The Chicago Code”), ABC generated its biggest Monday in 11 weeks among Total Viewers (9.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/8) – since 11/22/10.  The Net finished No. 1 on the night across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

“The Bachelor” (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Opposite stiff time period competition, ABC’s “The Bachelor” grew its overall audience for the 4th straight week, hitting a new season high among Total Viewers (9.8 million). The show also matched the prior week’s season high with Adults 18-49.  

Building nicely from its first hour to its second hour, ABC’s “The Bachelor” beat out Fox’s highly-promoted debut of “The Chicago Code” from 9:00-10:00 p.m., coming out of “House,” by 6% in Total Viewers (10.0 million vs. 9.4 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/8 vs. 2.4/6).

“The Bachelor” ranked No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-34 (2.8/8) and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), standing as Monday’s No. 1 regular TV series with Women 18-34 for the 6th straight week. 

“Castle” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o’clock hour against original drama competition on CBS (“Hawaii Five-0”) and NBC (“Harry’s Law”), ABC’s “Castle” ran No. 1 across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).  The ABC drama was also the top broadcaster with Teens 12-17.  In addition, “Castle” drew a larger overall audience than “Harry’s Law” (9.3 million vs. 9.1 million) and defeated the NBC drama by a resounding 47% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 1.7/5).   

“Castle” built on its most recent original (9.1 million & 2.4/7 on 1/24/11) in viewers (+2%) and young adults (+4%), equaling its top Adult 18-49 number in over 3 months – since 11/1/10.

Tuesday
Despite facing all-original competition on the night, including the return of Super Bowl-promoted Fox’s “Glee,” ABC marked its 2nd straight Tuesday of week-to-week gains, up by 8% in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 5.0 million) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.4/4) over the prior week.

“No Ordinary Family” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Opposite the return of “Glee” (fresh off of its post-Super Bowl airing) and CBS’ top-rated “NCIS,” ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” grew the Net’s overall audience in the 8 o’clock hour by 8% year to year (5.2 million vs. 4.8 million).

Season to date, ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” stands as the No. 1 scripted TV series on the major networks in terms of Family Coviewing, based on the percentage (18%) of its Adult 18-49 audience watching with Teens 12-17 or Kids 2-11.

“V” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in against CBS’ original “NCIS: Los Angeles,” Fox’s “Glee”-driven comedies (“Raising Hope”/”Traffic Light”) and the second hour of NBC’s 2-hour “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” ABC’s “V” was up by 6% week to week among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.7/4).

“Detroit 1-8-7” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its Total Viewer lead-in for the 2nd week running, ABC’s freshman drama “Detroit 1-8-7” earned second place in the 10 o’clock hour to CBS’ “The Good Wife,” outdrawing NBC’s sophomore drama, “Parenthood,” by 6% (5.5 million vs. 5.2 million).

Posting its 2nd consecutive week of Adult 18-49 gains and up 8% week to week (1.3/4 vs. 1.2/3), ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” marked its highest number in 2 months – since 12/7/10. 

Wednesday
As its Wednesday lineup returned to originals for the first time in three weeks, ABC (2.9/8) finished a strong No. 2 to an “Idol”-led Fox in Adults 18-49, beating all-original programming on CBS by 32% (2.2/6) and on NBC by 45% (2.0/5). 

In viewers (8.4 million) and young adults (2.9/8), ABC marked its strongest Wednesday of the season with regular programming on the night.

“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m. for the 4th week in a row, ABC’s “The Middle” took full control of its non-“Idol” competition in viewers and young adults (8.8 million and 2.6/7), towering over NBC’s first-run “Minute to Win It” (4.6 million and 1.1/3) and CBS’ season finale of “Live to Dance” (4.8 million and 0.9/3).

“The Middle” scored its highest-ever numbers against “American Idol” in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

“Better with You” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
At 8:30 p.m., like its lead-in, ABC’s “Better with You” finished No. 2 to “Idol” in viewers and young adults (6.8 million and 2.1/6), dominating the second half-hours of “Minute to Win It” (4.9 million and 1.4/4) and “Live to Dance” (4.7 million and 0.9/2).

“Better with You” grew over its most recent first-run telecast three weeks ago against “Idol” (on 1/19/11) by 6% in Total Viewers (6.8 million vs. 6.4 million).

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
On its return to original at 9:00 p.m., ABC’s “Modern Family” shot to the top of its half-hour to stand as Wednesday’s No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49 (5.1/13) for its 14th consecutive original airing this season.

“Modern Family” achieved series highs in Total Viewers (13.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.1/13 -tie).
 
“Mr.  Sunshine” (9:31-10:00 p.m.)
At 9:30 p.m., opening as ABC’s biggest series debut this season among Adults 18-49 (3.7/10),
“Mr. Sunshine” qualified as the Net’s highest-rated midseason scripted premiere in over 3 years – since 1/31/08.  In fact, the new ABC comedy was TV’s biggest midseason scripted premiere since the same date to open without the advantage of an “American Idol” lead-in or an NFL boost.

In viewers (10.5 million) and young adults (3.7/10), “Mr. Sunshine” posted ABC’s best numbers with regular programming in the time period in more than 16 months – since 9/23/09 and 9/30/09, respectively.

“Off the Map” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Off the Map” continued to deliver strong year-over-year gains for the Network, improving the hour in both Total Viewers (+19% – 5.6 million vs. 4.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+19% – 1.9/5 vs. 1.6/5) over the year-ago night with original drama programming (“Ugly Betty”).

“Off the Map” attracted its biggest audience in 3 weeks.

Thursday
Opposite an “Idol”-fueled Fox, ABC finished in a virtual tie for No. 2 with CBS on Thursday in Adults 18-49, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share (2.9/8 vs. 3.0/8).   

“Wipeout” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In the 8 o’clock hour, up against Fox’s “American Idol” and CBS’ original comedies (“The Big Bang Theory”/”$#*! My Dad Says”), ABC’s Winter “Wipeout” (7.0 million and 2.2/6) beat out NBC’s original comedies (“Community”/”Perfect Couples” = 3.4 million and 1.7/5) by wide margins, leading by 3.6 million viewers and by 29% in Adults 18-49.  The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series ranked No. 2 against its broadcast competitors in the hour with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11, behind only “Idol.”

Despite going up against increased competition year to year from “Idol” in the time period, “Wipeout” improved the hour for ABC over the year-ago night by substantial margins in viewers (+23%) and young adults (+47%).

Season to date, ABC’s “Wipeout” stands as the No. 1 TV show on the major networks in terms of Family Coviewing, with 32% of its Adult 18-49 audience watching with Teens 12-17 or Kids 2-11. 

“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won Thursday’s 9 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49, qualifying as the No. 1 series in the slot for its 14th straight original airing this season.  In its time period, “Grey’s” (3.9/10) beat out Fox’s “Idol”-led “Bones” by 22% (3.2/8), NBC’s comedies (“The Office”/”Parks and Recreation”) by 26% (3.1/8) and CBS’ “CSI” by 39% (2.8/7). “Grey’s” registered as Thursday’s No. 1 scripted TV program for the 2nd week in a row in the key young adult sales demo (tie). 

“Private Practice” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Growing week to week, ABC’s “Private Practice” (7.3 million and 2.6/7) defeated NBC’s comedies (“30 Rock”/”Outsourced” = 4.1 million and 2.0/6) in the 10 o’clock hour by 3.2 million viewers and by 30% in Adults 18-49.  Additionally, for its 13th consecutive first-run telecast this season, the ABC drama finished as the No. 1 scripted TV show in its hour with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

“Private Practice” built its numbers week to week in both Total Viewers (+4% – 7.3 million vs. 7.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+4% – 2.7/7 vs. 2.6/7).

Friday
Boosted by strong results from a 2-hour “20/20,” ABC ranked No. 1 versus its Network rivals on Friday night in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5-tie). 

ABC drew its biggest overall audience (5.6 million) on the night since New Year’s Eve 6 weeks ago – since 12/31/10.

“Private Practice” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Surging from its lead-in at 9:00 p.m., ABC’s 2-hour “20/20” won its time period in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5) and Adults 25-54 (2.2/6), finishing as Friday’s No. 1 TV show on the major nets in the key young adult sales demo (tie).  In addition, ABC’s “20/20” beat out NBC’s competing 2-hour “Dateline” in the 9:00-11:00 p.m. time period by 12% in Total Viewers, by 14% in Adults 18-49 and by 16% in Adults 25-54.  “20/20” featured a report on the disappearance of the Kim family, while on a road trip in the Pacific Northwest.

ABC’s “20/20” generated its most-watched telecast (6.4 million) since the beginning of December (12/3/10), attracting its 3rd largest audience of the 2010-11 TV Season.

Sunday
Opposite CBS’ coverage of the high-rated “53rd Annual Grammy Awards,” ABC (7.5 million) finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on Sunday evening, outpacing third-place NBC by 2.7 million viewers (4.8 million) and fourth-place Fox by 2.9 million viewers (4.6 million).

“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
During the 7 o’clock hour, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” took second place in viewers (7.8 million) and young adults (1.9/6), and was the No. 1 broadcast program with Kids 2-11 (1.6/5).
 
“AFV” marked its 2nd-most-watched telecast since the beginning of January – since 1/2/11.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Up against the opening hour of the “Grammy Awards” at 8:00 p.m., ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” took second place in the hour, topping Fox’s original comedies (“The Simpsons”/”Bob’s Burgers”) by 31% in Total Viewers (6.4 million vs. 4.9 million).

“Desperate Housewives” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Outdrawing its non-“Grammy” competition in the 9 o’clock hour by wide margins, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” (9.2 million) qualified as Sunday’s most-watched scripted television show for the 13th time in 14 original airings this season.
 
“Brothers & Sisters” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” earned second place to the “Grammy Awards” in Total Viewers (6.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.7/5).
 

(Source: ABC – The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 2/7/11, unless stated otherwise.)