Overall: During the week of 2/14/11, ABC ranked #2 to Fox in Adults 18-34 and beat NBC by wide margins in both Total Viewers (+20%) and Adults 18-49 (+25%). The Net delivered TV’s #1 scripted show for the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-49 with Modern Family and Grey’s Anatomy finished as the #1 drama. In addition, ABC’s Primetime: What Would You Do? stood as the #1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49. Building year to year for the 2nd straight week, ABC increased its overall audience by 5% from the same frame last year (w/o 2/15/10).
Monday: Against CBS’ all-original schedule and the second week of Fox’s new Monday line-up (House/The Chicago Code), ABC took second place in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, 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). Gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC’s The Bachelor earned second place in its time slot with viewers and young adults, outdelivering Fox’s Monday line-up (House/The Chicago Code). In fact during its second hour from 9-10pm, The Bachelor outdelivered Fox’s House-driven The Chicago Code by 31% in Total Viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49. The Bachelor once again finished #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 #1 TV series among Women 18-34 for the 7th week running. During the 10 o’clock hour against original drama competition on CBS (Hawaii Five-0) and NBC (Harry’s Law), ABC’s Castle ran #1 with Women 18-34 for its 4th straight telecast. In addition, ABC’s Castle continued to draw a larger overall audience than Harry’s Law and defeated the NBC drama by a strong 29% in Adults 18-49.
Tuesday: 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, Men 18-49 and Men 25-54. 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 and by a resounding 56% in Men 25-54. From its first half-hour to its second half hour, V gained 4% in viewers and 6% in Adults 18-49. In fact, from 9:30-10pm, V outdelivered the 2nd week of Fox’s Traffic Light by a strong 36% in the young adult demo. 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 and Women 18-34. ABC’s freshman drama Detroit 1-8-7 continued to draw a larger overall audience than NBC’s sophomore drama Parenthood and topped the NBC drama by 7% in Men 25-54. Detroit 1-8-7 improved the 10 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (+4%) over the year-ago night with original drama programming (The Forgotten on 2/16/10).
Wednesday: ABC ranked #2 on Wednesday to Fox with a 2-hour American Idol among Adults 18-34, 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 by 76% in Total Viewers and by 53% in Adults 18-49. At 8pm, 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%) and Adults 18-49 (+130%). In addition, The Middle beat out the Survivor premiere in both Adults 18-34 (+13%) and Women 18-34 (+35%). At 8:30pm like its lead-in, ABC freshman Better With You dominated NBC’s Minute to Win It, leading by 2.0 million viewers and by 64% in Adults 18-49. Building on its lead-in at 9pm 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. The ABC sophomore comedy qualified as Wednesday’s #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 and Adults 18-49. At 9:30pm, up against the final half-hour of American Idol, ABC’s Mr. Sunshine finished #2 with Adults 18-34, beating the second half of Criminal Minds by 20% and the final hour of NBC’s 2-hour Minute to Win It by 167%. The new ABC comedy also earned second to Idol with Men 18-34 and Women 18-34. 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 deliver strong year-over-year gains for the Net, improving the hour in both Total Viewers (+1.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+25%) from the same night last year.
Thursday: Despite facing increased competition on the night from an Idol-boosted Fox this year, ABC grew its Thursday numbers year to year in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+8%) over the same night last year (2/18/10) with all-original programming. 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 beat out NBC’s original comedies (Community/Perfect Couples) by 2.4 million viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49. The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series ranked #2 against its broadcast competition in the hour with Kids 2-11, 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 #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. ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy jumped into the lead of Thursday’s 9 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, registering as the #1 series in the slot for its 15th consecutive first-run broadcast this season. In its time period, Grey’s outdelivered Fox’s Idol-fueled Bones by 12%, CBS’ CSI by 28% and NBC’s comedies (The Office/Parks and Recreation) by 32%. Grey’s finished as Thursday’s # 1 scripted TV show for the 3rd week running in the key young adult sales demographic. ABC’s Private Practice held big advantages over NBC’s original comedies (30 Rock/Outsourced) 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 #1 scripted TV show in its hour with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
Friday: 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. In the key young adult sales demo, ABC’s Primetime defeated NBC’s Dateline in the hour by 14%. The ABC newsmagazine also topped its NBC newsmagazine competition in Adults 18-34 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, by 23% in Adults 18-49 and by 25% in Adults 25-54, drawing the newsmag’s best performance in 4 weeks – since 1/21/11.
Sunday: ABC finished in a virtual-tie for #1 on Sunday in Adults 18-49 with Fox, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share. In fact, ABC defeated Fox during its 7-10pm 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 and Adults 18-49 – since 1/9/11. All 4 of ABC’s Sunday shows grew their overall audiences week to week. ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos placed #1 among Adults 18-49 during the 7 o’clock hour. In addition, the broad-appealing ABC video-clip show ranked as the #1 broadcast program on Sunday evening with Kids 2-11. Building week to week, AFV generated its 2nd biggest overall audience since the beginning of January – since 1/2/11. At 8pm, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition stood as the most-watched TV show in its hour, outdrawing CBS’s season opener of Amazing Race. Despite facing the season premiere of Amazing Race, ABC’s Home Edition turned in the series’ most-watched telecast this season. ABC’s Desperate Housewives took control of its regular competition in the 9 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49, beating CBS’ Undercover Boss by 19%, NBC’s Saturday Night Live special by 55% and Fox’s animated comedies (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show) by 7%. 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. In the 10pm hour, ABC’s Brothers & Sisters ranked as the 2nd most-watched TV series overall and ran #1 across among key Women demos (W18-49/W25-54). ABC’s Brothers & Sisters posted solid week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%).
(source: ABC)
