ABC Wins the Week in Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and All Key Women
The Network Marks its Most-Watched Week in Well Over 1 Year
ABC is the Adult 18-49 Non-Sports Leader for the Season and November Sweep
Attracting its Largest Audience Since its Season Opener, “DWTS” Is Monday’s Most-Watched Series Program for the 8th Week Running
ABC’s “Castle” Dominates NBC’s “Jay Leno” by its Largest Margin to Date
Boosting the 8pm Hour Year-to-Year for ABC by 81% in Adults 18-49, “V” Defeats Time-Slot Veterans on NBC and Fox and is Tuesday’s No. 2 TV Show to CBS’ “NCIS”
Season-High “DWTS Results” Tops Fox’s “Dance” by a Best-Yet 52% in Adults 18-49
“In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts” Draws ABC’s Best Results in the Tuesday 10pm Hour in 7 Weeks and Gives ABC its Best-Ever Advantage Over NBC’s “Leno”
With “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” ABC Dominates Wednesday Evening, Beating Second-Place CBS by 5.7 Million Viewers and by 66% in Adults 18-49. “CMAs” Draw Biggest Audience in 4 Years and Hit a 6-Year-High in Women 18-34
ABC Wins 8 Straight Thursdays in Adults 18-49 Against Regular Competition
Marking a 6-Week-High in Adults 18-49, “Grey’s Anatomy” Qualifies As Thursday’s No. 1 TV Series in Adults 18-49 for the 8th Straight Week
Turning in a Best-Since-Premiere Performance, “Private Practice” Wins Thursday at 10pm in Adults 18-49, Improving the Hour by 50% Year to Year
On Friday, “Supernanny” Posts Season-Highs and “20/20” Wins 3rd Straight Week
ABC Generates Sunday Season-Highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” Draws its Biggest Audience Since March
“Home Edition” Logs its Biggest Overall Audience in the Hour in Over 1 Year
Generating its Biggest Audience Since March, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” Stands as Sunday’s Most-Watched Entertainment Show for 8 Weeks Running
“Brothers & Sisters” Garners its Most-Watched Telecast in Nearly 8 Months
WEEK No. 8:
ABC finished No. 1 during the week of November 9, 2009 among Adults 18-49 (3.2/9), Adults 25-54 (3.9/10) and across each of the key Women demographics: W18-34 (3.3/10), W18-49 (4.0/11) and W25-54 (4.8/12).
Marking a season-high performance in Total Viewers (11.2 million), ABC generated its most-watched week in well over 1 year – going back to the year-ago September season-premiere week w/o 9/22/08. The Network hit a 7-week-high with Adults 18-49 – best since season-premiere week w/o 9/21/09.
ABC was up over the same week last year by 7% in Total Viewers and by 3% in Adults 18-49 (10.5 million and 3.1/8 on w/o 11/10/08).
Season to date excluding sports, ABC stands as the No. 1 TV network among Adults 18-49 (3.3/9), leading CBS by 6% (3.1/8), Fox by 10% (3.0/8) and NBC by 50% (2.2/6). ABC (3.2/9) is also pacing a strong No. 1 for the ’09 November Sweep (through 18 of 28 nights) in the non-sports Adult 18-49 averages, outdelivering No. 2 CBS by 14% (2.8/8), No. 3 Fox by 39% (2.3/6) and No. 4 NBC by 60% (2.0/5).
Rankings: ABC aired 3 of the week’s Top 4 non-sports television programs in Adults 18-49, including the week’s No. 1 scripted series for the 7th time in 8 weeks this season: “Grey’s Anatomy” – No. 1 scripted/non-sports show, “CMA Awards” – No. 2 non-sports show and “Desperate Housewives” – No. 4 non-sports show. The Network placed 5 of Top 15 most-watched television programs overall during the week: “Dancing with the Stars” – No. 3, “CMA Awards” – No. 5, “DWTS the Results” – No. 7, “Grey’s Anatomy” – No. 10 and “Desperate Housewives” – No. 11. ABC claimed the Top 3 TV shows for the week across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) with “Grey’s,” “Housewives” and the “CMA Awards.” ABC’s “V” qualified as TV’s No. 1 new drama for the week in Adults 18-49.
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 33% currently, from 28% at the same point in 2008. 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
For the 4th time in the last 5 weeks, ABC stood as the night’s most-watched network (15.1 million), beating CBS by 3.0 million viewers (12.1 million), Fox by 4.7 million (10.4 million) and NBC by 10.2 million viewers (4.9 million). Further, ABC logged a season high in Total Viewers, drawing its largest audience on the night in 6 months – since 5/11/09.
“Dancing with the Stars” (8:00-10:02 p.m.)
Attracting its largest audience since its season premiere, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” stood as Monday’s No. 1 telecast in viewers (17.6 million), ranking as TV’s most-watched series program on Monday for the 8th time in 8 weeks this season. The ABC dance competition built its audience from its first hour to its second hour in both Total Viewers (17.3 million to 17.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/9 to 3.6/9). In fact, in the 9 o’clock hour, “Dancing with the Stars” outperformed original dramas on Fox (+20% – 3.0/7 with “Lie to Me”) and NBC (+100% – 1.8/4 with “Trauma”).
“DWTS” won its 2-hour time period for the 7th consecutive week among Women 18-49 (4.9/12) and Women 25-54 (6.7/15).
“Castle” (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
For the 3rd week in a row, ABC’s “Castle” outperformed NBC’s “Jay Leno” in the 10 o’clock hour with its largest margin to-date in Total Viewers (+5.7 million viewers – 9.8 million vs. 4.1 million), while doubling its performance among Adults 18-49 (+100% – 2.4/6 vs. 1.2/3).
One of TV’s biggest gainers in the 10 o’clock hour this season, ABC’s “Castle” is generating substantial increases over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, picking up an average 1.7 million viewers and an additional 6-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+26%) from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
On average, “Castle” is improving the time period year to year for ABC, growing its hour over the same nights last year with “Boston Legal” in both Total Viewers (+1.6 million – 10.6 million vs. 9.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% – 2.7/7 vs. 2.4/6).
Tuesday
ABC earned second place on Tuesday to CBS in both Total Viewers (12.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.2/8).
ABC’s Tuesday results were up over the same night last November Sweep by 6% in viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (11.4 million and 2.5/6 on 11/11/08).
“V” (8:00-9:01 p.m.)
ABC freshman “V” earned second place in the 8 o’clock hour to CBS’ top-performer “NCIS” in Total Viewers (10.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.8/10), beating NBC and Fox time-slot regulars by strong margins. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC’s newcomer “V” outdelivered NBC’s “Biggest Loser” by 1.6 million viewers and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (9.1 million and 3.4/9) and “Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance” by 4.6 million viewers and by 65% in Adults 18-49 (6.1 million and 2.3/6).
The ABC drama stood as Tuesday No. 2 program in Adults 18-49, behind only CBS’ “NCIS.” In addition, “V” ranked No. 1 in the hour in Men 18-34 (3.1/10) and Men 18-49 (4.1/12-tied) and stood as Tuesday’s No. 1 TV show for the 2nd week in a row in both key Men demos.
Versus the year-ago November Sweep night, “V” improved the hour year to year for ABC by an enormous 81% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 on 11/11/08).
“Dancing with the Stars the Results” (9:01-10:01 p.m.)
Ranking No. 1 in its time period in Total Viewers (16.2 million-tied), Tuesday’s most-watched unscripted TV show, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars the Results” outdrew NBC’s “Biggest Loser” (10.2 million) in direct competition during the 9 o’clock hour by best-ever 6.0 million viewers. In addition, the ABC dance competition dominated Fox’s dance program in the hour, beating the second hour of “So You Think You Can Dance” by a best-ever 10.8 million viewers (16.2 million vs. 5.4 million) and by 52% in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 2.3/6).
Growing its young adult numbers for the 2nd straight week, “DWTS the Results” hit season-highs with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
“In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
An ABC News Special, “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts,” took a strong second in the 10 o’clock hour to CBS’ “Good Wife,” beating NBC’s “Jay Leno” by 3.5 million viewers (9.3 million vs. 5.8 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 1.9/5) – representing ABC’s widest-ever-advantage over “Leno” in the hour in viewers and young adults. “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” took viewers into the private lives of country music’s biggest stars. The special featured Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Martina McBride.
“In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts” generated ABC’s biggest audience and highest Adult 18-49 number in the hour in 7 weeks (since 9/22/09).
Wednesday
“The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With the Network’s broadcast of “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” ABC overshadowed Wednesday’s prime, beating out second-place CBS on the evening by 5.7 million viewers (17.2 million vs. 11.5 million) and by 66% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/14 vs. 3.2/8). ABC ranked No. 1 in all 6 half-hours of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact it was a clean sweep on the night, as the Network also took top honors on the evening across all key Adults, Men and Women demographics (18-34/18-49/25-54) and Teens 12-17, as well as registering as the top-rated broadcaster with Kids 2-11.
ABC attracted its biggest Wednesday audience with non-sports programming in well over 4 years and its highest Adult 18-49 number in 2 years – since 9/21/05 and 11/07/07, respectively.
Year to year, the “CMA Awards” gained 1.3 million viewers and grew 6% in Adults 18-49 (2008 = 15.9 million and 5.0/13 on 11/12/08). It was the most-watched “CMA Awards” telecast in 4 years, while the annual awards show marked its highest Adult 18-34 number in 5 years (4.2/12) and top Women 18-34 number in 6 years (5.8/16) – since 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively.
ABC’s telecast of the “CMA Awards” outperformed CBS’ 2009 telecast of the “ACM Awards” in April by 2.4 million viewers and by 39% in Adults 18-49 (CBS’ “ACM Awards” on 4/5/09 = 14.8 million viewers and 3.8/10 in AD18-49).
An estimated 35.8 million viewers watched at least some portion of “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” during its 3-hour telecast – unique Viewers 2+ that watched 6 minutes or more of the program.
Thursday
Growing week to week, ABC finished as Thursday’s No. 1 network among Adults 18-49 (4.0/10) for the 2nd week in a row. In fact ABC has been the highest-rated network on the evening against regular competition on 8 of 8 Thursdays this season.
ABC was up week to week in both Total Viewers (+6% – 11.2 million vs. 10.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+8% – 4.0/10 vs. 3.7/10).
Surging 11% from the year-ago November Sweep Thursday in Adults 18-49 (3.6/9 on 11/13/08), ABC registered year-to-year gains on the evening for the 4th time in 5 weeks.
“FlashForward” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC freshman “FlashForward” saw week-to-week increases in Adults 18-34 (+5% – 2.3/7 vs. 2.2/7) and across all key Women demographics: W18-34 (+13% – 2.7/8 vs. 2.4/7), W18-49 (+10% – 3.2/8 vs. 2.9/8) and W25-54 (+3% – 3.8/9 vs. 3.7/9).
The top gainer overall for any new series this season in DVR playback, “FlashForward” surges over the first-reported numbers by 1.9 million viewers and by 8-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+24%) from the Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” (5.6/14) stood as Thursday’s No. 1 series telecast in Adults 18-49 for the 8th week in a row. Winning the 9 o’clock hour by wide margins, “Grey’s” defeated CBS with the concluding part of its “CSI” cross-over trilogy event by 37% (4.1/10), NBC’s comedy combo “The Office”/”30 Rock” by 56% (3.6/9) and Fox’s “Fringe” by 155% (2.2/5). “Grey’s” was also once again Thursday’s highest-rated show in Adults 18-34 (5.3/15).
“Grey’s” drew its biggest audience (14.9 million) in 3 weeks and its highest Adult 18-49 number (5.6/16) in 6 weeks – since 10/22/09 and 10/1/09, respectively.
TV’s most-popular show in DVR playback, “Grey’s Anatomy” jumps over the first-reported numbers by 2.9 million viewers and by an additional 1.4 Adult 18-49 rating points (+24%) from the Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
“Private Practice” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Private Practice” won the 10 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49 (3.9/11) and Adults 18-34 (3.8/11). In fact the ABC drama has been the No. 1 series in the final hour of Thursday night for 7 weeks running in Adults 18-34 and on 6 of 7 weeks in Adults 18-49.
“Private Practice” turned in a best-since-premiere Adult 18-49 number (3.9/11) and its largest overall audience (10.3 million) in a month – since 10/1/09 and 10/15/09, respectively.
Versus the year-ago night (11/13/08), “Private Practice” improved ABC’s delivery in the 10 o’clock hour by 50% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/11 vs. 2.6/7 – original “Life on Mars”).
Like its lead-in, “Private Practice” sees impressive DVR gains from the first-reported numbers, shooting up by 1.8 million viewers and by 0.9 Adult 18-49 rating points (+23%) from the Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
Friday
“Supernanny” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
“Supernanny” hit season highs in Total Viewers (4.8 million) and in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5).
“20/20” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Surging from its lead-in (+2.8 million viewers/+67% in AD18-49), ABC News’ “20/20” won its time period across each of the key Adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (1.4/5), Adults 18-49 (2.0/6) and Adults 25-54 (2.5/7). It was the 3rd straight week that the ABC news magazine won its hour with young adults.
“20/20” stood as Friday’s No. 1 TV show among Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row.
Sunday
Hitting Sunday season highs up against substantial sports competition on the evening, with Fox’s big NFL overrun (Dallas-Green Bay) into the 7 o’clock hour and another huge turnout for NBC’s down-to-the-wire Sunday Night Football game (Patriots-Colts), ABC beat its non-sports driven competition on CBS by 7% in Total Viewers (11.3 million vs. 10.6 million) and by 46% in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 2.4/6).
ABC drew its biggest non-sports audience on the night (excluding the Oscars) in nearly 1 year and its best Adult 18-49 number in 6 months – since 11/30/08 and 5/17/09, respectively.
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
In the 7 o’clock hour against Fox’s NFL overrun, ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” drew its biggest audience (8.5 million) since the beginning of March (since 3/1/09), while tying its highest Adult 18-49 number (2.3/6) this season.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In the 8 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” defeated its CBS unscripted competition in the time slot (“Amazing Race”) in Total Viewers (11.7 million) and across each of the key Adult demos: AD18-34 (2.6/7), AD18-49 (3.7/9) and AD25-54 (4.5/10).
Earning season highs in Total Viewers (11.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/9), ABC’s “Home Edition” equaled its biggest audience in the hour in more than 1 year and its highest young adult number since early January – since 10/26/08 and 1/4/09, respectively.
“Desperate Housewives” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” once again finished as Sunday’s No. 1 non-sports television program in Total Viewers (14.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.0/12), qualifying as the night’s most-watched entertainment program on all 8 weeks this season and for 6 straight weeks among Adults 18-49.
Growing week to week in Total Viewers (+7%) and Adults 18-49 (+14%) and hitting season-highs, “Desperate Housewives” marked its strongest performance since March – since 3/22/09 and 3/15/09, respectively.
“Housewives” is generating an even bigger increase this season than last over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, picking up an average 1.7 million viewers and an additional 7-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
“Brothers & Sisters” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Surging week to week in viewers (+11%) and young adults (+10%), ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” continued to beat out its drama competition in the 10 o’clock hour, topping CBS’ “Cold Case” by 5% in Total Viewers (10.1 million vs. 9.6 million) and by 52% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/8 vs. 2.1/6).
Producing its biggest audience this season, “Brothers & Sisters” generated its most-watched telecast in nearly 8 months – since 3/22/09.
Like its lead-in, “Brothers & Sisters” is seeing a sizeable uptick this season over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback (also bigger than last season), picking up an average 1.3 million viewers and an additional 5-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
WEEK NO. 8: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 ABC 3.2 No.1 CBS 11,470,000
No.2 FOX 3.1 No.2 ABC 11,150,000
No.3 CBS 2.8 No.3 NBC 8,120,000
No.3 NBC 2.8 No.4 FOX 8,020,000
No.5 CW 1.1 No.5 CW 2,350,000
(source: data and information provided by ABC. – Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 11/9/09, unless stated otherwise)
