ABC Airs TV’s No.1 Scripted Series in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Week in a Row With “Modern Family,” while “Grey’s Anatomy” Finishes as the Top Drama
“The Bachelor” Leads its Time Period in Adults 18-34 and All Key Women, Ranking as Monday’s No. 1 Series in Women 18-34 for the 7th Straight Week
ABC’s “Castle” Beats NBC’s “Harry’s Law” in Viewers and Young Adults, Ranking No. 1 Among Women 18-34 for the 4th Consecutive Telecast
ABC’s “V” Delivers its 2nd Week of Gains in Adults 18-49And Hits Season Highs in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34
Growing its Hour Year to Year, ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” Tops NBC’s “Parenthood”
ABC’s “The Middle” Beats Out CBS’ “Survivor” Premiere by 13% in Adults 18-34
Posting its 2nd-Highest-Ever Numbers Against “Idol,” “Modern Family” Stands as Wednesday’s No. 1 Scripted Show in Adults 18-49 for its 15th Straight Original
ABC Freshman “Mr. Sunshine” Ranks No. 2 to “Idol” in Adults 18-34, Beating CBS’ Veteran “Criminal Minds” by 20% and NBC’s “Minute to Win It” by 167%
ABC’s “Off the Map” Continues to Deliver Strong Year-to-Year Time Slot Gains
ABC Builds its Thursday Numbers Year to Year in Viewers and Young Adults
Against Increased Competition from “Idol,” “Wipeout” Continues to Generate Big Year-to-Year Time Period Increases for ABC in Thursday’s 8 O’clock Hour
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” Leads its Hour by Wide Margins in Adults 18-49 And Finishes as Thursday’s No. 1 Scripted TV Show for the 3rd Week Running
Earning its Top Number in 4 Weeks, ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” Beats NBC’s “Dateline” by 14% Among Adults 18-49 in Friday’s 9 O’clock Hour
ABC’s “Home Edition” Produces its Most-Watched Telecast of the Season
ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” Generates its Best Performance in 6 Weeks
WEEK No. 22:
During the week of February 14, 2011, ABC ranked No. 2 to Fox in Adults 18-34 (1.5/5-tie) and beat NBC by wide margins in both Total Viewers (+20% – 6.6 million vs. 5.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+25% – 2.0/6 vs. 1.6/5). The Network delivered TV’s No. 1 scripted show for the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-49 with “Modern Family,” and “Grey’s Anatomy” finished as the No. 1 drama. ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” stood as the No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49 (tie).
Building year to year for the 2nd straight week, ABC increased its overall audience by 5% from the year-ago week (6.6 million vs. 6.3 million on w/o 2/15/10).
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
Against CBS’ all-original schedule and the second week of Fox’s new Monday lineup (“House”/”The Chicago Code”), ABC took second place in Total Viewers (9.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8-tie), while winning the evening for the 4th week in a row across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).
Please note: With the Valentine’s Day holiday disrupting normal television viewing patterns, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage on Monday night was off by -6% from the prior week (35.0% vs. 37.3%).
“The Bachelor” (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC’s “The Bachelor” earned second place in its time slot with viewers (9.3 million) and young adults (2.9/8), outdelivering Fox’s Monday lineup (“House”/”The Chicago Code” – 8.6 million & 2.7/8). In fact during its second hour from 9:00-10:00 p.m., “The Bachelor” outdelivered Fox’s “House”-driven “The Chicago Code” by 32% in Total Viewers (9.7 million vs. 7.4 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/8 vs. 2.0/6).
“The Bachelor” once again finished No. 1 in its 2-hour time period among Adults 18-34 (3rd straight week) and across all key Women (4th straight week). In addition, the ABC veteran unscripted show qualified as Monday’s No. 1 TV series among Women 18-34 for the 7th week running.
“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 with Women 18-34 (2.2/8) for its 4th straight telecast. In addition, ABC’s “Castle” continued to draw a larger overall audience (8.8 million vs. 8.5 million) than “Harry’s Law” and defeated the NBC drama by a strong 29% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.7/5).
Tuesday
“V” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Building on its Total Viewer and young adult lead-in for the 3rd week running, ABC’s “V” posted its 2nd consecutive week of gains in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.8/5), Men 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.9/5) and Men 25-54 (2.5/6 vs. 2.4/6). In fact, “V” stood as the only program on the major nets to build week to week in the key young adult demo.
In the 9 o’clock hour, “V” beat out Fox’s “Glee”-led comedies (“Raising Hope”/”Traffic Light”) by 33% in Men 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.5/5) and by a resounding 56% in Men 25-54 (2.5/6 vs. 1.6/4).
From its first half-hour to its second half-hour, “V” gained 4% in viewers (5.3 million to 5.5 million) and 6% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 to 1.9/5). In fact, from 9:30-10:00 p.m., “V” outdelivered the 2nd week of Fox’s “Traffic Light” by a strong 36% in the young adult demo (1.4/4).
Opposite stiff time period competition from CBS’ original “NCIS: Los Angeles” and the second hour of NBC’s 2-hour “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” “V” achieved season highs in Adults 18-34 (1.4/4) and Women 18-34 (1.3/4-tie).
“Detroit 1-8-7” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s freshman drama “Detroit 1-8-7” continued to draw a larger overall audience than NBC’s sophomore drama “Parenthood” (5.2 million vs. 5.1 million) and topped the NBC drama by 7% in Men 25-54 (1.5/4 vs. 1.4/4).
“Detroit 1-8-7” improved the 10 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (+4% – 5.2 million vs. 5.0 million) over the year-ago night with original drama programming (“The Forgotten” on 2/16/10).
Wednesday
ABC ranked No. 2 on Wednesday to Fox with a 2-hour “American Idol” among Adults 18-34 (2.0/6), beating season premiere/debut programming on CBS (“Survivor”/”Criminal Minds”/”Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior”) and an all-original schedule on NBC (“Minute to Win It”/”Law & Order: SVU”).
Surging year to year, ABC was up over the year-ago evening (2/17/10) by 76% in Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 3.8 million) and by 53% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 vs. 1.5/4).
“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m., opposite “Idol” and the season opener of “Survivor: Redemption Island,” ABC’s “The Middle” more than doubled the numbers of NBC’s “Minute to Win It” in Total Viewers (+114% – 7.9 million vs. 3.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+130% – 2.3/7 vs. 1.0/3). In addition, “The Middle” beat out CBS’ “Survivor” premiere in both Adults 18-34 (+13% – 1.7/6 vs. 1.5/5) and Women 18-34 (+35% = 2.3/7 vs. 1.7/6).
“Better with You” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
At 8:30 p.m. like its lead-in, ABC freshman “Better with You” dominated NBC’s “Minute to Win It,” leading by 2.0 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 3.9 million) and by 64% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.1/3).
“Modern Family” (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. opposite the third half-hour of “Idol,” ABC’s “Modern Family” took full control of its scripted competition, beating CBS’ “Criminal Minds” by 39% among Adults 18-49 (4.3/12 vs. 3.1/8). The ABC sophomore comedy qualified as Wednesday’s No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49 for its 15th straight first-run telecast this season.
“Modern Family” posted its 2nd-best-ever numbers against “American Idol” in Total Viewers (10.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.3/12-tie).
“Mr. Sunshine” (9:31-10:00 p.m.)
At 9:30 p.m., up against the final half-hour of “American Idol,” ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” finished No. 2 with Adults 18-34 (2.4/7), beating the second half of “Criminal Minds” by 20% (2.0/6) and the final hour of NBC’s 2-hour “Minute to Win It” by 167% (0.9/3). The new ABC comedy also earned second to “Idol” with Men 18-34 and Women 18-34 (tie).
“Off the Map” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10 o’clock hour against the series debut of CBS’ “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” and NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU,” ABC’s “Off the Map” continued to generate strong year-over-year gains for the Network, improving the hour in both Total Viewers (+1.4 million – 4.3 million vs. 2.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+25% – 1.5/4 vs. 1.2/3) from the same night last year.
Thursday
Despite facing increased competition on the night from an “Idol”-driven Fox this year, ABC grew its Thursday numbers year to year in viewers (+4% – 7.7 million vs. 7.4 million) and young adults (+8% – 2.7/8 vs. 2.5/7) over the same night last year (2/18/10) with all-original programming.
“Wipeout” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In the 8 o’clock hour, opposite Fox’s “American Idol” and CBS’ original comedies (“The Big Bang Theory”/”$#*! My Dad Says”), ABC’s Winter “Wipeout” (6.0 million and 1.9/5) beat out NBC’s original comedies (“Community”/”Perfect Couples” = 3.6 million and 1.6/5) by 2.4 million viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49. The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series ranked No. 2 against its broadcast competition in the hour with Kids 2-11 (2.3/8), trailing only “Idol.”
Although facing heightened competition from “Idol” in the time period this year, “Wipeout” continued to improve the hour for ABC by substantial margins, surging from the year-ago night in viewers (+40%) and young adults (+73%).
Season to date, ABC’s “Wipeout” is the No. 1 TV show on the major networks in terms of Family Coviewing, as 32% of its Adult 18-49 audience watches with Teens 12-17 or Kids 2-11.
“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” jumped into the lead of Thursday’s 9 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, registering as the No. 1 series in the slot for its 15th consecutive first-run broadcast this season. In its time period, “Grey’s” (3.7/10) outdelivered Fox’s “Idol”-fueled “Bones” by 12% (3.3/9), CBS’ “CSI” by 28% (2.9/8) and NBC’s comedies (“The Office”/”Parks and Recreation”) by 32% (2.8/8). “Grey’s” finished as Thursday’s No. 1 scripted TV show for the 3rd week running in the key young adult sales demographic (tie).
“Private Practice” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Private Practice” (6.7 million and 2.3/7) held big advantages over NBC’s comedies (“30 Rock”/”Outsourced” = 3.7 million and 1.8/5) in the 10 o’clock hour, leading by 3.0 million viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49. In addition, for its 14th straight original airing this season, the ABC drama qualified as the No. 1 scripted TV show in its hour with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
Friday
“Primetime: What Would You Do?” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Surging 60% over its lead-in, ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” took second in the 9 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49 (1.6/5). In the key young adult sales demo, ABC’s “Primetime” defeated NBC’s “Dateline” in the hour by 14% (1.6/5 vs. 1.4/5). The ABC newsmagazine also topped its NBC newsmagazine competition in Adults 18-34 (1.0/4 vs. 0.9/4) and key Women demos (W18-34/ W18-49).
“Primetime: What Would You Do?” was up over its most-recent telecast (2/4/10) in Total Viewers (4.7 million vs. 4.6 million), by 23% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.3/4) and by 25% in Adults 25-54 (2.0/6 vs. 1.6/4), drawing the newsmag’s best performance in 4 weeks – since 1/21/11.
Sunday
ABC finished in a virtual tie for No. 1 on Sunday in Adults 18-49 with Fox, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share (2.3/7 vs. 2.4/7). In fact, ABC defeated Fox during its 7:00-10:00 p.m. prime in the key young adult sales demo. The Network won the night among key Women (W18-49/W25-54).
ABC marked a 6-week Sunday high in both Total Viewers (8.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/7) – since 1/9/11. All 4 of ABC’s Sunday shows grew their overall audiences week to week.
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” placed No. 1 among Adults 18-49 (1.9/6) during the 7 o’clock hour. In addition, the broad-appealing ABC video-clip show ranked as the No. 1 broadcast program on Sunday evening with Kids 2-11 (2.0/7).
Building week to week, “AFV” generated its 2nd biggest overall audience (8.1 million) since the beginning of January – since 1/2/11.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m., ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” stood as the most-watched TV show in its hour, outdrawing CBS’ season opener of “Amazing Race” (9.6 million vs. 9.2 million).
Despite facing the season premiere of “Amazing Race,” ABC’s “Home Edition” turned in the series’ most-watched telecast this season.
“Desperate Housewives” (9:00-10:01p.m.)
ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” took control of its regular competition in the 9 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49 (3.1/8), beating CBS’ “Undercover Boss” by 19% (2.6/7), NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” special by 55% (2.0/5) and Fox’s animated comedies (“Family Guy”/”The Cleveland Show”) by 7% (2.9/8).
Surging week to week in viewers (+1.4 million) and young adults (+15%), “Housewives” earned its top numbers since the beginning of January – since 1/9/11.
“Brothers & Sisters” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” ranked as the 2nd most-watched series overall (6.8 million) and ran No. 1 across among key Women demos (W18-49/W25-54).
ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” posted strong week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%).
WEEK NO. 22: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 FOX 3.5 No.1 CBS 11,170,000
No.2 CBS 2.5 No.2 FOX 9,610,000
No.3 ABC 2.0 No.3 ABC 6,590,000
No.4 NBC 1.6 No.4 NBC 5,540,000
No.5 CW 0.8 No.5 CW 1,760,000
(Source: ABC – The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 2/14/11, unless stated otherwise.)
