ABC Places a Strong Second for the Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49, While Ranking No. 1 with Adults 25-54 and Key Women Demographics.
With the Season Finales of “DWTS: The Results” and “DWTS,” ABC Now Claims TV’s Top 2 Most-Watched Entertainment Telecasts of the Season.
ABC Finishes No. 2 in November with Adults 18-49, Beating a World Series Boosted Fox, while Claiming No. 1 for the Sweep in the Non-Sports Averages.
ABC Stands as Monday’s Most-Watched Network for the 10th Week in a Row.
On Average “DWTS” Finishes its 11th Season with Sizeable Year-to-YearGains of 3.2 Million Viewers and 21% in Adults 18-49 Over Fall 2009.
ABC’s “Skating with the Stars” Premiere Tops NBC and Fox in its Time Period.
Towering Over the Final Tuesday of the November Sweep and at No. 1 with Season Highs, ABC Generates its Biggest Audience on the Night in 3 Years.
“No Ordinary Family” is Up Week to Week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
Surging Year to Year by 4.9 Million Viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49, “Dancing with the Stars” Scores its Most-Watched Finale in 6 Seasons.
Dominating Wednesday’s Prime Among Adults 18-49, ABC Generates its Strongest Thanksgiving Eve Results in 3 Years.
ABC’s “The Middle” Defeats CBS’ “Survivor” in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
“Modern Family” is Wednesday’s No. 1 TV Show for the 9th Straight Telecast.
ABC’s “Cougar Town” Wins its Slot and Stands as Wednesday’s No. 2 TV Show.
“Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?” Wins Wednesday’s 10pm Hour in Key Adults, Generating Big Year-to-Year Time-Period Gains for ABC.
ABC’s “20/20” Garners its 2nd-Most-Watched Telecast of the Season.
ABC Wins with “Saturday Night Football” in Viewers and Young Adults, Posting the Net’s 2nd Strongest Numbers on the Evening This Season.
WEEK No. 10:
During the week of November 22, 2010, a week that included the final nights of the November Sweep leading into the extended Thanksgiving holiday weekend, ABC earned second place in Total Viewers (8.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), while holding the No. 1 position with Adults 25-54 (2.9/8-tie) and winning its 4th straight week among key Women demographics (W18-49/W25-54).
ABC finished a very competitive second in the 2010 November Sweep among Total Viewers (10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/8). In fact among Adults 18-49, ABC beat out a World Series-boosted Fox (2.8/8) and ran in a virtual-tie with CBS (3.0/8) for No. 1 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share). The Net won the November Sweep for the 5th straight year across all key Women demographics: W18-34 (3.0/9), W18-49 (3.7/10) and W25-54 (4.6/11). Excluding sports to level the playing field for the boosts that the other nets gained from professional sports coverage (NFL games and overruns/World Series), ABC (3.1/8) was a definitive No. 1 for the 2010 November Sweep in Adults 18-49, outdelivering No. 2 CBS by 7% (2.9/8), No. 3 Fox by 29% (2.4/7) and No. 4 NBC by 63% (1.9/5).
Rankings: ABC aired 3 of the Top 10 TV shows for the week in Adults 18-49, placing 2 of the Top 3: “DWTS: The Results” – No. 2, “DWTS” – No. 3 and “Modern Family SP-11/24” – No. 10. It was ABC’s 10th straight week this season to deliver TV’s No. 1 unscripted program in the key young adult sales demo. The Net broadcasted the week’s Top 2 most-watched primetime programs overall with the closers of “Dancing.” In fact with the 11th-season finales of “DWTS: The Results” on Tuesday and “DWTS” on Monday, respectively, ABC now claims TV’s Top 2 most-watched entertainment telecasts of the TV Season (any net/any night).
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 38% currently, from 34% 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
ABC ranked as the No. 1 Net on Monday night in Total Viewers for the 10th week in a row, beating CBS by 3.7 million viewers (15.2 million vs. 11.5 million).
“Dancing with the Stars” (8:00-9:13 p.m.)
ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” stood as Monday’s No. 1 TV program in both Total Viewers (23.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.9/13), turning in the franchise’s strongest Monday finale in 6 seasons – since the Season 5 Monday finale on 11/26/07.
“DWTS” was up by 3.3 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49 compared to its Monday finale last year (20.4 million & 4.0/10 on 11/23/09).
On average in its 11th season, “DWTS” improved substantially over its year-ago performance, surging by 3.2 million viewers (21.2 million vs. 18.0 million) and by 21% among Adults 18-49 (4.6/11 vs. 3.8/9).
“Skating with the Stars” (9:13-11:00 p.m.)
The series premiere of “Skating with the Stars” drew 9.4 million viewers and a 2.4 rating, 6 share in Adults 18-49, topping NBC’s “The Event”/”Chase” (5.3 million & 1.5/4) and Fox’s “Lie to Me” (5.6 million & 1.7/5) by wide margins in its time period.
Tuesday
ABC towered over the final Tuesday of the November Sweep, beating its nearest competition by 3.9 million viewers (18.5 million vs. 14.6 million – CBS) and by 32% in Adults 18-49 (4.1/12 vs. 3.1/9 – Fox).
Hitting season highs on the night in viewers and young adults, the Net marked its most-watched Tuesday in 3 years – since 11/27/07.
“No Ordinary Family” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
For the 8th consecutive telecast this season, ABC freshman “No Ordinary Family” outdrew NBC’s veteran “The Biggest Loser” (7.0 million vs. 6.9 million). The ABC drama also defeated “Biggest Loser” with key Men (M18-49/M25-54).
Opposite stiff competition in Tuesday’s 8:00 p.m. hour, against the most-watched shows this season on both CBS (“NCIS”) and Fox (“Glee”), “No Ordinary Family” was up week to week in viewers (+4% – 7.0 million vs. 6.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+6% – 1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5).
“Dancing with the Stars: The Results” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Winning its time period on each of its final 4 telecasts this season in Total Viewers (24.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/15), ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars: The Results” grand finale stood as Tuesday’s No. 1 TV show by wide margins over CBS’ “NCIS” (18.8 million) and Fox’s “Glee” (4.0/12), respectively. Actress Jennifer Grey was crowned champion of Season 11 and awarded the coveted mirror ball trophy. Gaining viewers and young adults throughout its 2-hour broadcast, ABC’s “Dancing” finale attracted 26.5 million viewers and a 6.0/17 in Adults 18-49 during its final half-hour from 10:30-11:00 p.m.
“DWTS: The Results” rose sharply over its year-ago finale, jumping by 4.9 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (19.3 million & 4.3/12 on 11/24/09). In fact in its 11th-season closer, “DWTS: The Results” scored its biggest finale audience in 6 seasons and its top Adult 18-49 number in 5 seasons – since 11/27/07 and 5/20/08, respectively.
With the 11th-season finales of “DWTS: The Results” and “DWTS,” respectively, ABC now claims TV’s Top 2 most-watched entertainment telecasts this season (any net/any night).
Wednesday
ABC posted a dominant victory on the final night of the November Sweep among Adults 18-49 (2.3/8), beating second-place Fox by 28% (1.8/6), third-place CBS by 35% (1.7/6), fourth-place NBC by 44% (1.6/5). In addition, the Net won the night in Women 18-34 for the 6th week running.
Jumping over the year-ago night in Total Viewers (+42% – 7.4 million vs. 5.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+35% – 2.3/8 vs. 1.7/5), ABC marked its top results in on the-night-before Thanksgiving in 3 years (since 2007), matching its highest young adult number on the evening since 2005.
“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
ABC’s “The Middle” finished No. 1 at 8:00 p.m. in Total Viewers (8.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), beating CBS’ “Survivor: Nicaragua.” In addition, the ABC sophomore comedy delivered the No. 1 position in the half-hour in Adults 18-34 for its 3rd consecutive telecast and for its 4th straight airing in Women 18-34.
“The Middle” rose sharply from its year-ago performance (when it aired at 8:30pm), in both viewers (+2.4 million) and young adults (+29%).
“Better with You” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
ABC freshman “Better with You” ran in a virtual tie for No. 1 at 8:30 p.m. with “Survivor” in Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point – 1.9/6 vs. 2.0/7), while defeating NBC’s “Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special” by 19% (1.6/5) and the second half of Fox’s original “Human Target” by 36% (1.4/5). “Better with You” ranked No. 1 in its time slot with Women 18-34.
“Modern Family” (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
Standing as Wednesday’s No. 1 TV show for its 9th straight telecast this season in Adults 18-49 (3.7/12), ABC’s “Modern Family” took full control of the 9:00 p.m. half-hour, beating its closest competitor by 76% (Fox’s original “Hell’s Kitchen” – 2.1/7). The ABC sitcom also finished as the most-watched TV show overall on the final night of the sweep, topping runner-up “Criminal Minds” by 1.4 million viewers (10.6 million vs. 9.2 million).
“Modern Family” outdelivered its year-ago performance for the 9th consecutive airing this season, leaping over the same night last year by 3.5 million viewers and by 48% in Adults 18-49.
“Cougar Town” (9:31-10:01 p.m.)
The No. 2 TV show of the night, ABC’s “Cougar Town” won the 9:30pm half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating out second-place Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” by 4% (2.4/8 vs. 2.3/7).
“Cougar Town” produced substantial gains over its year-ago telecast, climbing by 20% in Total Viewers and by 26% in Adults 18-49.
“Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s special “Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?” won the 10 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, topping the final hour of NBC’s 2-hour “The Biggest Loser” special by 6% (1.8/6 vs. 1.7/6). The special ABC newsmagazine also finished No. 1 in the hour with Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54).
Versus the year-ago night with original programming, “Primetime” improved the hour for ABC by 2.3 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 64% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 vs. 1.1/3). Excluding only “The CMA Awards,” the special equaled ABC’s highest Adult 18-49 rating in the time period in 6 months – since 5/26/10.
Friday
On the Friday following Thanksgiving, ABC tied Fox for the lead among the major nets in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4), pacing 9% ahead of CBS (1.1/4) and 33% ahead of NBC (0.9/3).
ABC was up over the same night last year by 14% in Total Viewers (4.9 million vs. 4.3 million) and 9% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.1/4).
“ABC Friday Movie of the Week-11/26 Happy Feet” (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-10:00 p.m., a rebroadcast of the theatrical “Happy Feet” on the “ABC Friday Movie of the Week” ranked No. 1 against its network rivals in the 2-hour time period with Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 – tie), Adults 18-34 and Teens 12-17.
The “ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Happy Feet” stood as the No. 1 broadcast of the night with Kids 2-11, beating its nearest competition in the time period by 55% (1.7/6 vs. 1.1/4 – UNI).
“20/20-Friday-SP-11/26” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “20/20” earned second place in the 10 o’clock hour against is broadcast competition among Total Viewers (5.7 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.5/4). The special edition of “20/20” featured Barbara Walters’ interview with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.
Despite airing on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the ABC newsmagazine produced its 2nd-most-watched telecast of the season.
Saturday
With coverage of “Saturday Night Football” (Oklahoma at Oklahoma State or Notre Dame at USC), ABC finished a strong No. 1 on Saturday, beating its nearest competition by 26% in Total Viewers (7.8 million vs. 6.2 million – CBS) and by 83% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.2/4 – CBS and NBC tied).
In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC tallied its 2nd biggest Saturday night this season.
WEEK NO. 10: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 FOX 2.6 No.1 CBS 9,640,000
No.2 ABC 2.3 No.2 ABC 8,930,000
No.3 CBS 2.1 No.3 FOX 7,090,000
No.3 FOX 2.1 No.4 NBC 6,440,000
No.5 CW 0.4 No.5 CW 1,150,000
(Source: ABC – The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 11/22/10, unless stated otherwise. November Sweep averages (10/28-11/24/10) based Most Current data stream)
