Week 23: ABC against ‘Olympics’ solid w/ ‘The Bachelor and LOST’

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ABC Airs 3 of the Week’s Top 20 TV Programs Among Adults 18-49, Including 3 of the Top 8 Non-Olympic Shows and the Top 2 Scripted Series


ABC Stands as Monday’s No. 1 Non-Sports Net for the 2nd Straight Week.  Monday’s No. 1 Non-Olympic TV Program, “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All” Draws its Largest Audience in 10 Seasons and Best Adult 18-49 in 5 Seasons

ABC Builds on the Year-Ago Tuesday in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Week in a Row

Jumping from its Lead-in and Building Against Stiff Competition, ABC’s “Lost” Is Tuesday’s No. 1 Scripted TV Program in Adults 18-49 for the 4th Straight Week

Opposite the Olympics and “Idol,” “Lost” is Up Week to Week and Year to Year
 
For its 2nd Straight Telecast in Adults 18-49, ABC’s “the forgotten” is the No. 1 Scripted TV Show in its Slot, with its 2nd-Highest Number Since Mid-November

ABC’s Wednesday 8-9pm Comedy Replays of “Modern Family” and “The Middle” Continue to Defeat CBS’ Replays of “Old Christine” and “Gary Unmarried”

Surging from its Lead-in on Wednesday at 9pm Against “Idol” and the Olympics, ABC’s Replay “Modern Family” is the Top Scripted Show in its Slot in Adults 18-49

Opposite the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony, ABC 20-Year Veteran “America’s Funniest Home Videos” Posts its 2nd Straight Week of Gains

“Home Edition” Marks its Strongest Repeat Numbers Since Last April

Sunday’s No. 1 Scripted Program with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, “Housewives” Wins its Hour and Grows Week to Week in Women 18-34
 
 “Brothers & Sisters” is the No. 1 Scripted Show in its Hour for the 2nd Straight  Week with Adults 18-49 and Hits its Best Adult 18-34 Number in 7 Weeks

WEEK No. 23:
During the week of February 22, 2010, which included the final full week of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, ABC aired 3 of the Top 20 TV shows in Adults 18-49 (3 of the Top 8 non-Olympic programs), including the Top 2 scripted series:  “Lost” – No. 14 (No. 1 scripted series), “The Bachelor”– No. 15 and “Desperate Housewives” – No. 16 (No. 2 scripted series).  In fact “Lost” registered as TV’s No. 1 scripted series in Adults 18-49 on 3 of the last 4 weeks and for 4 consecutive frames in Adults 18-34.  “Housewives” ranked as the week’s highest-rated scripted program with key Women (W18-49/W25-54).
 
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 36% currently, from 30% at the same point in 2009. 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
Continuing to hold strong against NBC’s Olympic coverage, with “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All” (up over the prior year, despite facing the Winter Games) and a repeat of “Castle,” ABC stood as Monday’s No. 1 non-sports network for the 2nd week in a row with Total Viewers (9.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.0/8), beating its closest competitor by 1.4 million viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (CBS = 7.8 million and 2.5/7)

“The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love: The Women Tell All” (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Monday’s No. 1 non-Olympic TV program for the 2nd week in a row in Total Viewers (11.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.9/10), ABC’s “The Bachelor” paced well ahead of its non-Olympic competition from 8:00-10:00 p.m., besting runner-up CBS by 3.6 million viewers and by 44% with young adults (CBS – 7.7 million and 2.7/7).  The ABC unscripted show ranked No. 1 against regular competition in its 2-hour time period for the 6th week in a row in Adults 18-34 (3.5/10) and stood as Monday’s No. 1 TV series with Women 18-34 for its 8th straight telecast this season. “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All” beat NBC’s Winter Olympics by 21% among Women 18-34 (5.2/14 vs. 4.3/12).

Despite facing the Winter Olympics this year, “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All” was up year to year in Total Viewers (+4% – 11.3 million vs. 10.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5% – 3.9/10 vs. 3.7/9).  In fact “The Women Tell All” attracted its biggest overall audience in 10 seasons (3rd most-watched ever) and highest Adult 18-49 number in 5 seasons – since Fall 2003 on 11/12/03 and Spring 2006 on 2/20/06, respectively.

Tuesday
Although airing against the Winter Olympics this year, ABC grew over the year-ago Tuesday (2/24/09) for the 3rd week in a row, jumping year to year by 37% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 vs. 1.9/5).

“Lost” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Opposite considerable competition from the Vancouver Olympics and the second hour of Fox’s “American Idol” (Top 12 female semifinals performances) from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ABC’s “Lost” shot up from its lead-in by 5.6 million viewers (10.0 million vs. 4.4 million) and by 207% in young adults (4.6/11 vs. 1.5/4) and built its audience from start to finish (+5% in viewers/+7% in young adults).   In fact for the 2nd week in a row, “Lost” outperformed NBC’s Olympic coverage in the 9 o’clock hour in both Adults 18-34 (+10% – 4.3/11 vs. 3.9/10) and Men 18-34 (+29% – 4.5/13 vs. 3.5/10). 

Against the Winter Games and “Idol,” “Lost” grew its numbers over the prior week in both Total Viewers (10.0 million vs. 9.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.6/11 vs. 4.5/11).

Despite the intensified competition this year, “Lost” was up over the same telecast last season (Episode 4) in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (9.8 million & 4.4/10 on 2/11/09).

“Lost” qualified as Tuesday’s No. 1 scripted TV program for the 4th consecutive week in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and across key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). 

“the forgotten” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o’clock hour against the Olympics, ABC’s “the forgotten” registered as TV’s No. 1 scripted show in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5) for the 2nd straight telecast, generating the series’ 2nd-highest number since mid-November – since 11/17/09.

Wednesday
“Modern Family – WED 8PM” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
ABC’s rebroadcast airing of “Modern Family – WED 8PM” topped CBS’ “Old Christine” in Adults 18-49 (1.2/3 vs. 1.1/3) for the 3rd telecast in a row.

“The Middle” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
ABC’s repeat “The Middle” beat its comedy competition in the 8:30pm half-hour for the 4th straight telecast, defeating CBS’ “Gary Unmarried,” by 15% in Total Viewers (3.8 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 56% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 0.9/2).  

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in by 21% at 9:00 p.m. against Fox’s “American Idol” and NBC’s Winter Olympics, a replay of ABC’s “Modern Family” stood as the highest-rated scripted show in its half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating CBS’ “Criminal Minds” (1.7/4 vs. 1.6/4).  

Sunday
Growing week to week against the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony, ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” posted its 2nd consecutive week of gains with Total Viewers (7.9 million vs. 7.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 2.1/6).  The 20-year ABC veteran video clip show stood as the No. 1 non-sports program during the 7 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49 for the 2nd straight week, beating runner-up CBS’ “60 Minutes” by 38% (2.2/7 vs. 1.6/5).   

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In Total Viewers (6.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.9/5), ABC’s “Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition” marked its strongest repeat numbers since mid-April – since 4/19/09.
 
“Desperate Housewives” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Against stiff competition in the 9 o’clock hour, including NBC’s Olympics Closing Ceremony and CBS’ “Undercover Boss,” ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” won its time period and grew week to week among Women 18-34 (+5% – 4.2/11 vs. 4.0/10).  “Housewives” qualified as Sunday’s No. 1 scripted program in Total Viewers (10.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/9).     

“Brothers & Sisters” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Finishing as the No. 1 scripted program for the 2nd-week in a row in Sunday’s 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” outdelivered CBS’ “Cold Case” among young Adults: Adults 18-34 +25% (2.0/6 vs. 1.6/5) and Adults 18-49 +5% (2.5/7 vs. 2.4/6).
  
“Brothers & Sisters” tallied its highest Adult 18-34 rating in 7 weeks – since 1/10/10.   

WEEK NO. 23:  ADULTS 18-49    TOTAL VIEWERS
             No.1 NBC 5.5    No.1 NBC  21,320,000
             No.2 FOX 4.1    No.2 FOX  11,010,000
             No.3 CBS 2.0    No.3 CBS   7,810,000
             No.4 ABC 1.9    No.4 ABC   5,700,000
             No.5 CW  0.6    No.5 CW    1,430,000

 
(Source: information provided by ABC – The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 2/22/10, unless stated otherwise)