Overall: During the week of 8/22/11, ABC claimed 6 of the Top 20 broadcast shows among Adults 18-49: Wipeout-TUES – #9, Bachelor Pad and Modern Family tied at #11, while Take the Money & Run, Wipeout-THURS and Sunday 20/20: The Sixth Sense tied at No. 16. ABC’s Sunday 20/20: The Sixth Sense registered as the #1 newsmagazine for the 2nd week in a row for with key Adults (AD25-54/AD18-49). Building over the same week last year (w/o 8/23/10) in Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%), ABC qualified as the only major net to post year-over-year gains on either measure. In addition, ABC jumped 17% week to week in Adults 18-49, equaling an 11-week high in the key young adult sales demo – since w/o 6/6/11.
Summer 2011: With just one week remaining in the summertime frame (13 of 14 weeks), ABC ranks #1 for Summer 2011 among Adults 18-49. The Net also holds the #1 position for the summer with AD25-54, W18-49 and M18-49.
Monday: With the Bachelor Pad and a repeat airing of Castle, ABC topped both CBS and NBC in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC grew its overall Monday audience year to year for the 3rd straight week, building 6% over the same night last year with an all-original schedule (8/23/10). For the 3rd week in a row, Bachelor Pad rose over the same night last year with Total Viewers (+5%). In the 10pm hour, ABC’s Castle attracted its 2nd biggest audience this summer. In addition, for the 2nd week in a row, the repeat ABC drama grew its hour year to year among Total Viewers (+8%), outperforming original programming on the year-ago evening (Dating in the Dark).
Tuesday: Gaining 15% week to week, ABC ranked #2 on Tuesday among Adults 18-49 to NBC with its 2-hour live semi-final round of America’s Got Talent. From 8-9pm, ABC’s repeat Wipeout ran a strong #1 among Adults 18-49, beating runner-up CBS’ encore NCIS by 25% and pacing 82% ahead of NBC’s original unscripted series It’s Worth What? in the hour. In addition, the wide-appealing Wipeout made ABC the highest-rated broadcaster in the time slot with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11 for the 4th week running.
The replay Wipeout equaled summer highs for ABC in the hour among Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. Against the opening hour of NBC’s America’s Got Talent from 9-10pm, ABC’s Take the Money & Run took second against its network rivals in Adults 18-49. Take the Money & Run surged by double-digit percentages week to week in viewers (+14%) and young adults (+14%). Take the Money & Run grew its hour year to year by 8% in Total Viewers over the year-ago night with original unscripted programming (Shaq Vs. on 8/24/10). At 10 o’clock against the second hour of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, ABC’s Combat Hospital built its Adult 18-49 audience by 11% from the prior week to match an 8-week high – since 6/28/11.
Wednesday: Growing 8% week to week in Adults 18-49, ABC matched its 2nd-best numbers on Wednesday this summer to hit a 12-week high – since 6/1/11. In addition, the Net grew its overall Wednesday audience over the same night last year (8/25/10) for the 4th straight week in Total Viewers (+13%) and 5th consecutive week in young adults (+27%).
In the 8pm half-hour, ABC’s encore The Middle topped Fox’s debut of Buried Treasure by 20% in Total Viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49. The Middle grew over its year-ago rebroadcast by 9% in young adults. At 8:30pm, ABC’s replay Modern Family led the second half-hour Fox’s Buried Treasure debut by 15% in Total Viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49. Gaining 7% over its week-ago repeat in Adults 18-49, Modern Family scored its best repeat number in the half-hour this summer and delivered the time period’s strongest young adult performance since early June – since 6/1/11. At 9 o’clock, ABC’s repeat Modern Family stood as Wednesday’s #1 scripted program on in Adults 18-49. The ABC sitcom finished second in the half-hour in young adults, behind only NBC’s original America’s Got Talent, dominating its encore competition on CBS by 58% (Criminal Minds) and on Fox by 138% (House). Growing over the prior week by 12% in Adults 18-49 to hit its best young adult number in the half-hour in 12 weeks (since 6/1/11), Modern Family turned in its 2nd-best performance in the time-slot this summer.
Further, the ABC sitcom drew ABC’s largest overall audience in the 9pm half-hour since early June – since 6/1/11. Modern Family was up over its year-ago rebroadcast by 17% in Total Viewers and by 36% in young adults. At 10 o’clock, ABC’s Primetime Nightline: My (Extra) Ordinary Family improved on the previous week’s performance in the hour (Primetime Nightline: Beyond Belief) by 8% in Adults 18-49, marking the strongest number for any Primetime Nightline telecast in the slot this summer.
Friday: Up against CBS’ preseason NFL coverage (Green Bay at Indianapolis), ABC’s Friday line-up was up week to week by 11% in Total Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49, generating its biggest audience on the night in 5 weeks – since 7/22/11.
Opposite the first hour of CBS’ pre-season Packers-Colts NFL game from 8-9pm, ABC’s repeat Shark Tank delivered its largest audience since mid-July (since 7/15/11) and qualified as the 2nd-most-watched program in the hour, behind only CBS’ NFL pre-season game. In addition, the repeat ABC series dominated original episodes of NBC’s Friends with Benefits in the time slot by 1.7 million Total Viewers and by 83% in Adults 18-49. Despite airing against the final hour of the NFL pre-season game at 10 o’clock, ABC’s 20/20 grew week to week by 12% in Total Viewers, by 14% in Adults 25-54 and by 18% in Adults 18-49, matching the newsmag’s 2nd-highest-rated telecast this summer in the key Adult 18-49 demo.
Saturday: Featuring coverage of NASCAR Series at Bristol, ABC surged week to week by 2.9 million Total Viewers and by 180% in Adults 18-49, turning in its strongest Saturday night this summer.
Sunday: Featuring repeats of AFV and Home Edition leading into Sunday 20/20: The Sixth Sense, ABC earned second place against its network rivals on Sunday among Adults 18-49 to NBC with its preseason NFL coverage (New Orleans-Oakland), leading CBS by 7% and Fox by 36%. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC generated its strongest Sunday night this summer with regular programming.
In addition, the Net was up over the year-ago Sunday for the 3rd straight week in viewers and for the 2nd time in 3 weeks in young adults. During the 7 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49, ABC’s encore America’s Funniest Home Videos beat out NBC’s NFL sports special (Madden NFL 12 Pigskin Pro-Am) by 75%, CBS’ 60 Minutes by 40% and Fox’s animated comedy encores (American Dad/Bob’s Burgers) by 75%. The veteran ABC video clip show hit summer highs in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
Surging week to week by 1.0 million viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49 during the 8pm hour, ABC’s replay Extreme Makeover: Home Edition turned in its 2nd-strongest results of the summer. Opposite stiff competition from NBC’s special preseason Saints-Raiders NFL game and MTV’s 2011 Video Music Awards from 9-11pm, the second week of ABC’s Sunday 20/20: The Sixth Sense once again built on its lead-in to qualify as the most-watched regular program in its 2-hour time period.
The ABC newsmagazine features stories of extraordinary instinct that uncovers the truth. Growing from its week-ago premiere in Total Viewers (+2%), Adults 25-54 (+11%) and Adults 18-49 (+23%), Sunday 20/20: The Sixth Sense achieved summer highs for ABC in the time period with regular programming. In fact, the new show continued to produce ABC’s largest summertime audience in the time slot with a series in 5 years, and in more than 3 years in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 – since 8/20/06 and 7/6/08, respectively.
(source; ABC)
