Week 29: 3rd time in 4 weeks, ABC builds, 'DWTS' helps

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For the 3rd Time in 4 Weeks, ABC Builds its Overall Audience Year to Year.


ABC Airs 4 of the Week’s Top 20 Most-Watched TV Shows, as “DWTS” Finishes No. 2, Outdrawing Fox’s “Idol-Thursday” for the 3rd Week Running.

ABC Stands as Monday’s Most-Watched Network for the 4th Straight Week.

ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” Attracts its Biggest-Ever Audience Opposite the NCAA Basketball Men’s Championships. 

ABC’s “Castle” Towers Over the Season Finale of NBC’s “Harry’s Law”.

Up By 1.7 Million Viewers Year to Year, ABC Finishes as the 2nd-Most-Watched Net on Tuesday, Beating NBC by 4.4 Million Viewers and Fox by 7.8 Million. Viewers

ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” Season Finale Builds on its Most Recent Airing by 63% In Viewers and 50% in Adults 18-49, Posting its Best Numbers in Nearly 3 Months.

Up Year to Year, “DWTS Results Show” Wins its Slot for the 2nd Straight Week.

Winning Tuesday’s 10pm Hour for the 2nd Week in a Row, ABC’s “Body of Proof” Beats CBS’ and NBC’s Original Dramas in the Slot by Wide Margins in Adults 18-49.

ABC’s Back-to-Back “The Middle” Repeats Defeat NBC’s Original “Minute To Win It”.

ABC’s Replay “Modern Family” Towers Over its Repeat Competition on NBC, Generating Improved Year-to-Year Returns in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” Surges Week to Week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

During its Freshman Season Run, ABC’s “Off the Map” Improves its Time Period Year to Year for the Net by Double-Digit Percentages in Viewers and Adults 18-49.

ABC Hits a 13-Week High on Friday Night Among Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49.

On Average During its Freshman Season Run, ABC’s “Secret Millionaire” Greatly Improves its Hour Year to Year, Up by 39% in Viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49.

WEEK NO. 29:   ADULTS 18-49        TOTAL VIEWERS
              No.1  CBS 2.7   No.1 CBS    11,160,000
              No.2  FOX 2.6   No.2 FOX     7,840,000
              No.3  ABC 1.9   No.3 ABC     7,590,000
              No.4  NBC 1.5   No.4 NBC     5,060,000
              No.5  CW  0.5   No.5 CW      1,260,000

WEEK No. 29:
During the week of April 4, 2011, as “Modern Family” and “Grey’s Anatomy” aired in repeat and “Desperate Housewives” was pre-empted, ABC still placed 3 of the Top 20 TV programs in Adults 18-49, with “Dancing with the Stars” (No. 4), “DWTS Results” (No. 11) and “Castle” (No. 19). The Net claimed 4 of the Top 20 most-watched television programs overall, including 2 of the Top 6, and

No. 2 “DWTS,” which topped Fox’s “American Idol – Thursday” for the 3rd week in a row:  “DWTS” – No. 2, “DWTS Results” – No. 6, “Castle” – No. 13 and “Body of Proof” – No. 16.   

For the 3rd time in 4 weeks, ABC grew its overall audience year to year (7.6 million vs. 7.4 million on w/o 4/5/10).  In fact ABC was the only major network to build on the year-ago week.

Monday
Standing as Monday’s most-watched network for the 4th week in a row, ABC (18.4 million) delivered another decisive win on the night, outdrawing second-place CBS (14.9 million) with its coverage of the 2011 NCAA Basketball Men’s Championship game by a wide margin (+3.5 million).

“Dancing with the Stars” (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Leading each of its half-hours in viewers and ranking as Monday’s most-watched TV show overall for the 3rd week running, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” won its time period over second-place CBS by 9.9 million viewers (21.8 million vs. 11.9 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 vs. 3.9/10).  In fact it was ABC’s 7th consecutive week to rank No. 1 in the time slot in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.  Despite the stiff competition, “DWTS'” audience climbed from its first hour to its second hour, gaining 1.9 million viewers (20.9 million to 22.8 million) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/13 to 4.9/12).

Outdrawing its year-ago telecast (21.2 million on 4/5/10), “DWTS” generated its biggest audience ever against the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

“Castle” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Opposite the NCAA Basketball Championship, ABC’s “Castle” stood as the No. 1 TV series in the 10 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (11.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7).  In fact it was the 2nd most-watched regular program on the night, behind only “DWTS.”  ABC’s “Castle” overshadowed the season finale of “Harry’s Law” (7.8 million and 1.4/3) by 3.7 million viewers and +100% in Adults 18-49.   

Tuesday
With the season finale of “No Ordinary Family,” “DWTS Results Show” and “Body of Proof,” ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on Tuesday night (11.0 million) to CBS, topping NBC by 4.4 million viewers (6.6 million) and Fox by 7.8 million viewers (3.2 million).

Building year to year for the 3rd straight week, the Net grew its audience from the same night last year (4/6/10), over an all-original schedule (“DWTS Results”/”Lost”/”V”), by 1.7 million viewers (9.3 million).

“No Ordinary Family” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m. against CBS’ top-rated “NCIS” and the first hour of NBC’s 2-hour “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” ABC’s season finale of “No Ordinary Family” (5.7 million and 1.5/5) attracted the show’s biggest audience and equaled its highest Adult 18-49 rating in nearly 3 months – since 1/18/11.  The show rose sharply over the penultimate episode of its freshman season (3/26/11), surging by 63% in Total Viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (3.5 million and 1.0/3).

“DWTS Results Show” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Leaping to the top of the 9 o’clock hour for the 2nd consecutive week, ABC’s “DWTS Results Show” ranked No. 1 in its time period in both Total Viewers (16.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.2/8). 
The ABC dancing results show stood as Tuesday’s No. 1 broadcast show across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).  TV host Wendy Williams was the second celebrity to be eliminated from the show this season. 

“DWTS Results Show” posted strong year-to-year gains, surging by 30% in Total Viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year (12.4 million and 2.5/7 on 4/6/10).

“Body of Proof” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10 o’clock hour against established first-run dramas on CBS (“The Good Wife”) and NBC (“Parenthood”), ABC’s “Body of Proof” finished No. 1 for the 2nd week in a row in Total Viewers (11.2 million) and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54).  Exhibiting stronger lead-in retention week to week, ABC’s “Body of Proof” beat out CBS’ “The Good Wife” (+20% – 2.4/6 vs. 2.0/5) and NBC’s “Parenthood” (+26% – 2.4/6 vs. 1.9/5) by wide margins among Adults 18-49.

“Body of Proof” built substantially over its most-recent telecast this past Sunday (4/3/11), gaining 32% in Total Viewers and 20% in Adults 18-49 (8.5 million and 2.0/5).

The new drama delivered 5.4 million more viewers to the time period for ABC (11.2 million vs. 5.8 million) over the year-ago night with original drama programming (“V” on 4/6/10).

Wednesday
“The Middle”/”The Middle” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m., against the first hour of Fox’s “American Idol” and CBS’ “Survivor: Redemption Island,” ABC’s back-to-back repeats of “The Middle” continued to outperform NBC’s original “Minute To Win It” by wide margins, outdelivering the NBC gamer by 39% in Total Viewers (4.6 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 30% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.0/3).

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
At 9:00 p.m. opposite the third half-hour of “Idol” and CBS’ original “Criminal Minds,” ABC’s encore “Modern Family” defeated its repeat competition by big advantages, besting NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” in Total Viewers (+80% – 5.4 million vs. 3.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+150% – 2.0/5 vs. 0.8/2).  

The “Modern Family” replay was up year to year in both viewers and young adults (5.1 million and 1.9/5 on 4/7/10).

“Mr. Sunshine” (9:31-10:00 p.m.)
In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, despite going up against the “Idol”-fueled debut of “Breaking In,” ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” surged week to week by 18% in Total Viewers (4.7 million vs. 4.0 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.4/4).

“Mr. Sunshine” boosted the time period year to year for ABC by 31% in Total Viewers and by 14% Adults 18-49 (3.6 million and 1.4/4).

“Off the Map” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
On average during its freshman season run in the 10 o’clock hour against stiff drama competition on CBS and NBC, “Off the Map” improved the time period year to year for ABC by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+11% – 6.0 million vs. 5.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% – 2.1/6 vs. 1.9/5) over original drama programming last season (“Ugly Betty”). 

Thursday
ABC earned second place to an “Idol”-driven Fox on Thursday among Adults 18-49, beating CBS’ all-original schedule by 10% (3.2/9 vs. 2.9/8). 

In viewers (9.0 million) and young adults (3.2/9), ABC scored its best Thursday results since mid-January – since 1/13/11.
 
The Network’s numbers rose over the year-ago night, also an evening of original programming (“FlashForward,” “Grey’s” and “Private Practice” on 4/1/10 = 7.6 million and 2.5/8), by double-digit percentages in both Total Viewers (+18%) and Adults 18-49 (+28%).

“Wipeout” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m. against “American Idol” and original comedies on CBS (“The Big Bang Theory”/”Rules of Engagement”), ABC’s Spring “Wipeout” outdelivered NBC’s comedies (“Community”/”Perfect Couples”) by wide margins in viewers (+205% – 6.4 million vs. 2.1 million) and young adults (+90% – 1.9/6 vs. 1.0/3).  In addition, the wide-appealing unscripted series registered as the No. 2 broadcast program of the night with Kids 2-11 (2.0/7), behind only “Idol.”  

Despite facing the move of “Idol” into the time period this year, the ABC unscripted series continued to produce double-digit year-to-year percentage growth in the hour with Total Viewers (+26%) and Adults 18-49 (+28%) over original programming on the year-ago evening (“FlashForward” = 5.0 million and 1.5/5).

“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
Standing as Thursday’s No. 1 scripted TV show for the 2nd straight week, a musical episode of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won Thursday’s 9 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (13.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.9/13), beating Fox’s “Idol”-fueled debut of “Mobbed” by 29% (3.8/10) and CBS’ original “C.S.I.” by 69% (2.9/9) in the key young adult sales demo.  In fact “Grey’s” qualified as the No. 1 scripted series in the slot with Adults 18-49 for its 18th straight original broadcast this season. 

Building its numbers for the 2nd week running and hitting best-since-season-premiere results, “Grey’s” jumped over the prior week by 2.8 million viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49.  The ABC medical drama achieved a 6-month high in viewers and young adults, marking its strongest performance since its season premiere in September – since 9/23/10.
 
“Grey’s” was up sharply over its year-ago original telecast (9.9 million and 3.5/11 on 4/1/10), gaining 32% in Total Viewers and 40% in Adults 18-49

“Private Practice” (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Private Practice” finished in a near-tie for No. 1 in the hour among Adults 18-49, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share with “The Mentalist” (2.7/7 vs. 2.8/7).  ABC’s “Private Practice” won the hour among Adults 18-34, beating “The Mentalist” by 18% (2.0/6 vs. 1.7/5).  In addition, for its 17th consecutive first run telecast, the ABC drama registered as the No. 1 scripted TV show in the 10 o’clock hour with key Women (W18-34/W18-49). 

Among Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49, “Private Practice” posted a 12-week high – since 1/6/11.
 
Friday
ABC led the pack on Friday among Adults 18-49 (1.4/4), tying CBS’ original drama line-up (“Chaos”/”CSI: NY”/”Blue Bloods”) and besting NBC’s originals (season finale of “Who Do you Think You Are?”/”Dateline”) by 8% (1.3/4) and Fox’s encores (“Kitchen Nightmares”/”Fringe”) by 56% (0.9/3).

ABC turned in a 13-week high on Friday in Adults 18-34 (1.1/4), while equaling its top Adult 18-49 number since the same date – since 1/7/11. 

“Shark Tank” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m., ABC’s “Shark Tank” ranked No. 2 against its network rivals in the hour with Adults 18-49 (1.2/4), leading the second week of CBS’ “Chaos” by 33% (0.9/3).  Building young adult audience throughout its broadcast, the ABC unscripted series gained 8% from its first half-hour to its second half-hour (1.2/4 to 1.3/4). 

ABC’s “Shark Tank” posted a season-high on the night with Women 18-49 (1.5/5).

“Primetime: What Would You Do?” (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
During the 9 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” beat out its newsmagazine competition across all key Adult demos, leading NBC’s “Dateline” by 38% in Adults 18-34 (1.1/4 vs. 0.8/3), by 17% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 1.2/4) and by 6% in Adults 25-54 (1.7/5 vs. 1.6/4).  In addition, “What Would You Do?” defeated CBS’ original “CSI: NY” by a solid margin in Adults 18-34 (+10% – 1.1/4 vs. 1.0/4).

ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” was up from its most recent original two weeks ago by 7% in Total Viewers, by 8% in Adults 18-49 and by 6% in Adults 25-54 (4.4 million, 1.3/4 and 1.6/5 on 3/25/11).   In addition, the ABC newsmagazine matched its highest rating since mid-January with Adults 18-34 and since mid-February in Adults 25-54 – since 1/21/11 and 2/18/11, respectively.

“20/20” (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “20/20” finished No. 1 in the 10 o’clock hour for the 2nd week in a row among Women 18-49 (2.1/6).  “20/20” featured Elizabeth Vargas’ yearlong investigation into the Independent Fundamental Baptist Church. 

“20/20” posted its highest Adult 18-34 number (1.2/4) on the night in more than 2 months and its strongest Women 18-34 number (1.9/6) in nearly 5 months – since 1/28/11 and 11/19/10, respectively.

Sunday
ABC (7.2 million) stood as the 2nd-most-watched network on Sunday to CBS with its Masters Golf Tournament primetime overrun, outdrawing NBC by 1.1 million viewers (6.1 million) and Fox by 2.8 million viewers (4.4 million). The Network also earned No. 2 position on Sunday with Adults 25-54 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).  

“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
During the 7 o’clock hour, ABC’s repeat “America’s Funniest Home Videos” took second place in its time period to a Masters Golf Tournament-boosted CBS in Total Viewers (6.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.6/5), beating out NBC’s original “Dateline” (4.3 million and 0.9/3) by 51% and 78%, respectively.  The encore telecast of the broad-appealing series finished No. 1 in its slot with Women 18-34, and made ABC the top-rated broadcaster in the hour with Kids 2-11.

“Secret Millionaire” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Surging over its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. in viewers (+2.8 million) and young adults (+50%) and building audience from start to finish, ABC’s season finale of “Secret Millionaire” continued to dominate its freshman unscripted competition on NBC. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC’s “Secret Millionaire” outdelivered NBC’s “America’s Next Great Restaurant” by 5.8 million viewers (9.3 million vs. 3.5 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.2/4).  In addition, “Secret Millionaire” ranked as the No. 1 series its time period among Women 49 on all 6 of its airings. 

Drawing a larger audience for ABC in the hour year to year on all 6 of its telecasts, on average during its freshman season “Secret Millionaire” delivered impressive time period improvement in Total Viewers (+39% – 11.0 million vs. 7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+32% – 2.9/8 vs. 2.2/6), over the same nights last season. 

(Source: ABC –  The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 4/4/11, unless stated otherwise.)