ABC Airing 4 of the Week’s Top 20 Shows, Including the Top 2 Unscripted Series with “DWTS” and “DWTS: The Results”
For the 2nd Week Running, ABC is the Only Net to Improve Year to Year In the 10pm Hour, Once Again Posting Double-Digit Percentage Gains
ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” Outdraws CBS’ “Two and a Half Men”-Fueled Comedy Block in Viewers and Beats Fox’s “Terra Nova” Debut in Adults 18-49
ABC’s “Castle” Stands as the Most-Watched TV Series in Monday’s 10pm Hour
ABC’s “DWTS: The Results” Retains 100% of its Week-Ago Season Premiere Adult 18-49 Audience and Builds on its Opener by 3% with Women 18-49
Improving its Hour Year to Year, ABC’s “Body of Proof” Draws a Larger Overall Audience Than NBC’s “Parenthood” for the 2nd Consecutive Week
“Suburgatory” Opens as ABC’s Biggest Comedy in the Time Period in 8 Years
ABC’s “Modern Family” is Wednesday’s No. 1 TV Show for the 2nd Week in a Row
ABC’s “Happy Endings” Opens its Sophomore Season at Series Highs
ABC’s “Revenge” Posts Big Time-Period Growth and Defeats NBC’s “L&O: SVU”
“Charlie’s Angels” Continues to Generate Substantial Year-Over-Year Improvement
“Grey’s Anatomy” Stands as Thursday’s Dominant No. 1 Drama in Adults 18-49
ABC’s “Private Practice” Opens its 5th Season with a 10-Month High in Adults 18-49
ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” is Up Year to Year for its 4th Straight Telecast
Retaining Nearly All of its Week-Ago Season Premiere Audience, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” Beats CBS’ “The Good Wife” by 36% in Adults 18-49
Continuing to Exhibit ABC’s Best Lead-in Retention in More than 5 Years, “Pan Am”
Is the No. 1 Non-Sports Show in its Hour in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Week Running
Overall: ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network during the week of 9/26/11, outdrawing Fox by 18% and NBC by 23%. The Net also ranked #2 for the week across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). ABC delivered 4 of the week’s Top 20 TV shows in Total Viewers, including the Top 2 unscripted series with DWTS and DWTS: The Results: DWTS – #7, DWTS: The Results – #9, Modern Family – #11 and Castle – #20. ABC’s Modern Family finished as the #2 scripted show for the week in Adults 18-49, behind only CBS’ Two and a Half Men. In addition, the Emmy-winning ABC comedy stood as the week’s #1 scripted show with Women 18-34.
For the 2nd week in a row this season, ABC was the only net to grow in the 10 o’clock hour year over year. On Monday-Friday from 10-11pm, the Net once again delivered double-digit percentage year-to-year improvement in Total Viewers (+11%), Adults 18-49 (+15%) and Adults 25-54 (+12%). CBS and NBC were both down in the hour for the 2nd week running across all three Nielsen measures.
Monday: Featuring Dancing with the Stars and Castle, ABC qualified as the #1 TV network on Monday in Total Viewers for the 2nd week in a row, topping CBS by 1.5 million viewers (HIMYM/2 Broke Girls/Two and a Half Men/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0), Fox by 5.5 million viewers (2-hour series debut of Terra Nova) and NBC by 10.4 million viewers (2-hour The Sing Off/The Playboy Club). Among Adults 18-49, ABC outdelivered Fox’s prime with its highly-promoted 2-hour debut of Terra Nova and doubled NBC’s delivery (+100%). Growing its audience from its first hour to its second hour against CBS’ Two and a Half Men-fueled comedy block from 8-10pm, Dancing with the Stars once again made ABC the most-watched net in its time period, outdrawing CBS by 2.0 million viewers. Head to head among Adults 18-49, ABC’s DWTS defeated Fox’s 2-hour Terra Nova debut by 6% and NBC’s The Sing Off by 94%. For the 2nd week in a row, ABC’s Castle stood as the most-watched TV show in the 10 o’clock hour, besting CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 (+4%) and more than tripling NBC’s The Playboy Club (+193%). The ABC drama once again doubled The Playboy Club with Adults 18-49 (+115%). In addition, Castle registered as the #1 series in the hour for the 2nd week running with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In Total Viewers, ABC’s Castle was up over it year-ago performance on the evening.
Tuesday: With a Dancing encore special, DWTS: The Results and Body of Proof, ABC stood as the 2nd-most-watched net on Tuesday night to CBS (NCIS/NCIS: LA/Unforgettable). The Net topped Fox on the night by 2.9 million viewers (Glee/New Girl/Raising Hope) and NBC by 5.3 million viewers (2-hour The Biggest Loser 12/Parenthood). From 8-9pm, ABC’s DWTS: The Encore Performance finished #2 to CBS’ top-rated NCIS in Total Viewers, outdrawing Fox’s Glee by 10% and the opening hour of NBC’s The Biggest Loser by 64%. Surging over its lead-in and building audience throughout its broadcast against strong competition, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars: The Results registered as the 2nd-most-watched program in the 9 o’clock hour, pacing well ahead of Fox (New Girl/Raising Hope) and NBC (The Biggest Loser). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series also earned the #2 position in the hour with Adults 25-54, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49, while ranking #1 with Women 25-54. In addition, the program ranked #1 against its network rivals with Kids 2-11. Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis was the second celebrity dancer to leave the dance competition this season. The ABC unscripted series once again outdelivered its NBC unscripted competition in the hour by wide margins, beating the second hour of The Biggest Loser by 8.5 million viewers and by 21% in Adults 18-49. DWTS: The Results retained 100% of its week-earlier premiere among Adults 18-49 and grew week to week with Women 18-49 (+3%). ABC’s Body of Proof ran a solid second overall in the 10 o’clock hour, topping NBC’s Parenthood by 3.7 million viewers. The sophomore ABC drama also finished #2 in its time slot with Adults 25-54 for the 2nd week running. Exhibiting much stronger lead-in retention for ABC in the hour year to year with viewers and young adults, Body of Proof improved its time period over the same night last year in Total Viewers (+6%) and across all key Women: W18-34 (+13%), W18-49 (+4%) and W25-54 (+6%).
Wednesday: Despite facing Fox’s 2-hour The X Factor on the night this year, ABC’s numbers rose sharply over the same Wednesday last year in both Total Viewers (+29%) and Adults 18-49 (+42%). For the 2nd week in a row this season, ABC claimed Wednesday’s definitive #1 TV show with Modern Family. At 8pm, ABC’s The Middle dominated its comedy competition in the half-hour, leading NBC’s Up All Night by 3.4 million viewers and by 29% in Adults 18-49. In addition, The Middle beat out CBS’ Survivor: South Pacific in the slot by 33% in Adults 18-34. Although it’s facing The X Factor in the time period this year, The Middle was up from its performance on the year-ago night for the 2nd straight telecast among viewers (+4%) and young adults (+8%). Building on its lead-in by double-digit percentages among viewers (+13%) and young adults (+22%) at 8:30pm, the series debut of Suburgatory opened as ABC’s biggest comedy premiere in the half hour in 8 years with Total Viewers and in 6 years with Adults 18-49 – since 10/1/03 and 10/12/05, respectively. Similarly to its lead-in, Suburgatory overshadowed its comedy competition in the half-hour, more than tripling the delivery of NBC’s Free Agents in viewers (+216%) and Adults 18-49 (+230%). In fact, the new ABC comedy ran in a virtual tie with Survivor in the slot among Adults 18-49 and beat the CBS reality series by an impressive 59% in Adults 18-34. Outperforming the year-ago debut of Better with You in the half-hour by sizeable margins in viewers (+24%) and young adults (+32%), Suburgatory produced ABC’s largest audience in the slot with a comedy telecast since November 2003 and its top young adult number since November 2005 – since 11/19/03 and 11/16/05, respectively. Surging over its lead-in at 9pm to win its time period over the third half-hour hour of The X Factor in viewers (+10%) and young adults (+36%), ABC’s Modern Family finished as the night’s #1 TV show and posted the series’ 2nd-strongest regular telecast ever on both counts (behind only the prior week’s season premiere). In fact, Modern Family achieved a new series high with Women 18-34. Despite heightened competition year to year, Modern Family jumped over its year-ago telecast by 1.5 million viewers and by 24% in young adults. In the 9:30pm half-hour against the conclusion of The X Factor, the sophomore season premiere of ABC’s Happy Endings scored series highs across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). Happy Endings stood as the #1 scripted show in its slot with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34. Boosting its time slot from the year-ago night in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+11%), Happy Endings generated ABC’s best performance in the time period with regular programming in nearly 8 months – since 2/9/11. Growing on its Total Viewer lead-in (+16% – 8.5 million vs. 7.3 million) during the 10pm hour against veteran dramas on both CBS (CSI) and NBC (L&O: SVU), ABC’s freshman drama Revenge ran a strong second, beating NBC’s veteran drama L&O: SVU by 18% in Total Viewers and by 29% in Adults 18-49. The new ABC drama ranked #1 in the hour for its 2nd straight telecast with Adults 18-34 and among key Women (W18-34/W25-54). Revenge continued to generate enormous time-period improvement for ABC, surging over the year-ago night in viewers (+85%) and young adults (+125%).
Thursday: Up against stiff competition from the opening hour of Fox’s The X Factor and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory into the debut of How to be a Gentleman from 8-9pm, Charlie’s Angels continued to post substantial time period improvement for ABC and outdraw established comedies on NBC. In the hour, the new ABC drama topped NBC’s comedy block by 2.8 million viewers (Community/Parks and Recreation). Charlie’s Angels saw its numbers build from its first half-hour to its second half-hour among viewers (+6%) and young adults (+14%). Opposite heightened competition in the hour year to year, Charlie’s Angels boosted its time period for ABC by 3.3 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49 over the year-ago night. Launching off its lead-in (+140%) against the second hour of The X Factor, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy once again finished as Thursday’s dominant #1 drama in Adults 18-49. Leading its scripted competition in the 9 o’clock hour by wide margins, Grey’s defeated NBC’s comedies (The Office/Whitney) by 20% and CBS’ Person of Interest by 33%. ABC’s 5th season opener of Private Practice ranked #1 versus its CBS and NBC competition in the 10 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49, beating out CBS’ The Mentalist by 8% and NBC’s Prime Suspect by 87%. Private Practice also led its drama competition in the hour by sizeable margins with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Topping its season finale in May with viewers (+4%) and young adults (+12%), ABC’s Private Practice drew the series’ biggest audience since March and scored a 10-month high with Adults 18-49 – since 3/24/11 and 12/2/10, respectively.
Friday: In the 8 o’clock half hour, ABC’s repeat Modern Family topped NBC’s encore Up All Night by 31% in Total Viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49. From 8:30-9pm, ABC’s replay of the Suburgatory premiere led NBC’s repeat comedy (Whitney) in the half hour by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+21% ) and Adults 18-49 (+22%). ABC’s rebroadcast Pan Am outdrew Fox’s original Fringe in the 9 o’clock hour by 1.2 million viewers. Soaring week to week by 21% in Total Viewers, by 15% in Adults 25-54 and by 20% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s 20/20 equaled its best young adult number in 5 weeks – since 8/26/11.
Saturday: Airing from 8:07-11:39pm, ABC’s Saturday Night Football (Nebraska at Wisconsin) grew over coverage on the year-ago night (Stanford at Oregon/Notre Dame at BC on 10/2/10) by 18% in Total Viewers and by 13% in Adults 18-49, marking the franchise’s 4th straight telecast of year-over-year gains.
Sunday: Building audience for ABC opposite CBS’ big NFL overrun in the 7 o’clock hour, the season opener of America’s Funniest Home Videos grew over its season finale in Total Viewers and hit its top Women 18-34 number since early May (on 5/1/11). Increasing over its lead-in at 8pm against an NFL overrun-inflated CBS and NBC’s Sunday Night Football (NY Jets-Baltimore Ravens), ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition outdrew Fox’s animated comedies (The Simpsons/The Cleveland Show) in the hour by 1.3 million viewers. The ABC unscripted series retained 100% of its week-ago season premiere audience with Adults 18-34 and was up with Kids 2-11 (+7%). Despite CBS’ decided lead-in advantage coming into the 9 o’clock hour from the NFL overrun carryover, ABC’s Desperate Housewives built on its lead-in to beat The Good Wife by a wide margin for the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (+36%). In addition, the ABC drama qualified as Sunday’s #1 entertainment program with Women 18-49 for the 2nd week running. Housewives delivered strong retention of the prior week’s season opener with Total Viewers (93%), Adults 18-49 (94%) and Adults 18-34 (96%). DVR Playback Note: Sunday’s biggest gainer during the 2010-11 TV season via time-shifted viewing, Desperate Housewives increased by 2.0 million viewers and by 9-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+26%) from the first reported L+SD numbers to finalized L+7 Day numbers. Continuing to exhibit impressive lead-in retention (best in over 5 years) for ABC in the 10pm hour against NBC’s NFL coverage, ABC’s Pan Am defeated CBS’ time-period veteran CSI: Miami by 8% among Adults 18-49, ranking as the #1 non-sports show in the slot for the 2nd consecutive week. The new ABC drama also finished as the top entertainment program in its time period with Adults 25-54 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). On each of its two telecasts, Pan Am has delivered the Net’s best lead-in retention for any show to follow Housewives since Grey’s Anatomy back in May 2006. In its second telecast, Pan Am retained an impressive 91% of its strong week-earlier debut numbers with Adults 18-34 and 90% with Women 18-34.
(source; ABC)
