Overall: During the week of 3/4/13, ABC delivered 5 of the Top 20 regular broadcast shows in Adults 18-49, including The Bachelor, Once Upon a Time, Modern Family-R, Revenge (hitting at 2-month high) and Shark Tank (hitting a 2-month high). Marking a 3-month high on Friday, ABC’s 20/20 qualified as the week’s #1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49. ABC outperformed NBC by substantial margins in Total Viewers (+54%) and Adults 18-49 (+36%), leading for the 6th straight week and 7th time in 8 weeks.
Monday: With The Bachelor: The Women Tell All and a repeat Castle, ABC finished a strong second on Monday in Adults 18-49 to Fox’s originals (from 8–10 pm, ABC beat Fox’s prime). Both The Bachelor and Castle finished #1 in their respective time periods in Adults 18-49. The Net was up over the same night last year (3/5/12) in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+10%). Leading up to next week’s season finale, The Bachelor: The Women Tell All won its 2-hour time period among Adults 18-49, outdelivering Fox’s original drama lineup by 12% (Bones/The Following). Head to head, the ABC unscripted series continued to pace well ahead of NBC’s The Biggest Loser 14 in Total Viewers (+42%) and Adults 18-49 (+27%). Once again posting year to year gains, The Bachelor was up over the year-ago Women Tell All in Total Viewers (+4%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%). Season to date, The Bachelor is up over the same point last year in both viewers (+3%) and young adults (+3%). Although airing an encore, ABC’s Castle won the 10 o’clock hour for the 3rd straight week with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 versus its CBS and NBC competition. The repeat ABC drama doubled the audience (+100%) of NBC’s original Deception and led by 27% in Adults 18-49. Castle generated its biggest repeat numbers in close to 2 years with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tie) – since 4/25/11.
Tuesday: During the 8 o’clock hour against the first hour of a special American Idol and CBS’ top-rated NCIS, ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap beat out its NBC competition by 50% in Adults 18-49. Opposite Idol and NCIS, the ABC unscripted series built by 21% in Adults 18-49 from its first half-hour to second half-hour. On average, Celebrity Wife Swap is improving the hour for ABC year to year by 25% in Adults 18-49. In its new 9 o’clock time slot, ABC’s The Taste beat NBC’s comedies in the hour (Go On/The New Normal) for the 2nd week in a row in both Total Viewers (+14%) and Adults 18-49 (+20%). The new ABC unscripted series delivered strong retention of its week-ago time period premiere in Adults 18-49 (86%) and Adults 18-34 (90%). At 10pm, ABC’s Body of Proof held its largest advantages yet over Smash, once again more than doubling the overall audience of the NBC drama (+144%) and leading by 63% in Adults 18-49. Body of Proof was up week to week in Total Viewers (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%), hitting a new season high in the young adult demo.
Wednesday: At 8pm, ABC’s repeat The Middle beat out NBC’s original Whitney by 2.1 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49. In addition, the encore ABC comedy outdelivered CBS’ Survivor in the half-hour in Adults 18-34 (+20%) and Men 18-34 (+38%). In viewers and young adults, The Middle marked its 2nd-highest repeat numbers since December 2011 – since 12/14/11. Building on its lead-in (+6%), ABC’s The Neighbors retained 100% of its Adult 18-49 delivery week to week despite coming out of an encore The Middle. Like its lead-in, The Neighbors beat out CBS’ Survivor in the slot with Men 18-34 (+11%). Building on its lead-in at 9pm, ABC’s repeat Modern Family finished as Wednesday’s #1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49 on the major nets. During the 9:30pm half-hour against the conclusion of Idol, ABC’s Suburgatory was the #1 scripted show with Women 18-49 and Teens 12-17 on the major nets. During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s Nashville replay was up over its last repeat in Total Viewers (+7%) and tied the series’ best encore Adult 18-49 number.
Friday: Growing week to week in Adults 18-49 against all-original competition, ABC posted its top-rated Friday since November 9, 2012. On the night, ABC outdelivered CBS by 31%, NBC by 70% and Fox by 70%. Shark Tank was Friday’s #1 TV show with key adults on the major networks and 20/20 was Friday’s top-rated newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 (4th week in a row) and Adults 25-54 (4th week in a row). From 8-9pm among Adults 18-49, ABC’s Last Man Standing and Malibu Country tied CBS’ Undercover Boss, while beating Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares by 17% and NBC’s season premiere of Fashion Star by 75%. Despite the new competition, the ABC comedies paced within 1-tenth of a rating point in the 8 o’clock hour week to week. At 9pm, ABC’s Shark Tank built on its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+54%) to earn its highest rating since January 11, 2013, equaling its best performance since November (since 11/9/12). In the hour, the ABC unscripted series beat NBC’s return of Grimm by 33%, CBS’ Golden Boy by 100% and Fox’s Touch by 186%. Season to date, Shark Tank is up 17% in Adults 18-49, producing its best season ever. ABC’s 20/20 won the 10 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49 over its net rivals, beating CBS’ Blue Bloods by 14% and NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams by 78%. From 10-11pm, 20/20 also outperformed its NBC newsmagazine competition by 45% in Total Viewers and by 62% in Adults 25-54. 20/20 reported on housing nightmares, unusual homes, awful neighbors and real estate’s dirty secrets. Growing week to week in Adults 18-49 (+14%) and Adults 25-54 (+5%), the ABC newsmagazine earned its top ratings since December 14, 2012.
Sunday: Please Note: On the first Sunday of Daylight Saving Time, overall TV usage declined notably during the opening hours of the night. Week to week Adult 18-49 PUTs were off -6% during the 7 o’clock hour and down -7% in the 8 o’clock hour. Spiking over its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+64%) 8pm, ABC’s Once Upon a Time ran neck-and-neck with CBS’ Amazing Race for the lead in the hour, closing the gap week to week to pace within 1-tenth of a rating point. The ABC drama once again won its time slot with key Women (W18-34/W18-49) to stand as Sunday’s top-rated broadcast series. Despite facing declining viewing levels week to week, Once Upon a Time was up in Total Viewers (+3%), Adults 18-49 (+5%), Adults 18-34 (+6%) and Kids 2-11 (+22%), drawing its biggest overall audience in nearly 2 months – since 1/20/13. Up 11% in Adults 18-49 from its last telecast 3 weeks ago before The Oscars, ABC’s Revenge returned with strong lead-in retention (87%), beating the first hour of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice by 18% and CBS’ The Good Wife by 33% during the 9 o’clock hour. In addition, the sophomore drama made ABC the #1 broadcaster in the hour with Adults 25-54 and across all key Women demos. Building for its 2nd airing in Total Viewers (+17%) and Adults 18-49 (+11%), Revenge posted its best numbers since the beginning of January – since 1/6/13. Season to date, Revenge has gained 21% in Adults 18-49 over the same point in its freshman season. During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s Red Widow retained 80% of its week ago 2-hour series debut in Adults 18-34. Based on the first 3 days of TV playback (Live + 3 Day Ratings), Red Widow (on 3/3/13 from 9-11pm) grew over its Live +Same Day numbers by 1.8 million viewers (7.1 million to 8.9 million) and by 27% in Adults 18-49 (1.5 rating to a 1.9 rating).
