ABC Sees Week to Week Increases Opposite an “Idol”-Fueled Fox and NBC’s All-Original Comedy Lineup.
Taking Second to Fox’s “American Idol” at 8pm, ABC’s Spring “Wipeout”
Dominates NBC’s Comedy Block by 2.8 Million Viewers and by 46% in Young Adults.
Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With 1 original and 2 repeat programs, ABC posted gains week to week in both Total Viewers (+13% – 4.4 million vs. 3.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+8% – 1.3/4 vs. 1.2/4) opposite an “Idol”-led Fox and NBC’s all-original lineup.
“Wipeout” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m. against Fox’s “American Idol,” ABC’s Spring “Wipeout” finished second in the hour in Adults 18-49, topping NBC’s original comedies, including the highly promoted series premiere of “The Paul Reiser Show,” by 2.8 million viewers (6.2 million vs. 3.4 million) and by 46% among Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.3/4). “Wipeout” also ranked No. 2 to “Idol” in the hour among Adults 18-34, Men 18-49, Women 18-49 and Teens 12-17, outdelivering NBC’s comedy block by solid margins.
Despite facing “Idol” in the time period this year, the ABC unscripted series generated double-digit year-to-year gains in the hour with Total Viewers (+24%) and Adults 18-49 (+36%), over an original episode of “FlashForward” on the year-ago evening (5.0 million and 1.4/5 on 4/15/10).
ABC was the only major net to build audience in the hour against “Idol,” gaining 10% in overall viewers (5.9 million to 6.5 million) and 18% in young adults (1.7/6 vs. 2.0/6) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.
(Source: ABC – The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 4/14/11)
