ABC Grows Year-to-Year in Total Viewers for 10th Straight Week

Growing year to year for the 10th week running, ABC ranked No. 2 during the week of July 19, 2010 among Total Viewers (5.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.5/5). In fact ABC has finished 1st or 2nd in the key young Adult sales demo on nearly every week this summer (6 of 8 weeks). For the 3rd straight week, ABC was the No. 1 net with key Women: W18-49 (1.9/6-tie) and W25-54 (2.3/7).

· The Network's results surged over the same week last year by 1.0 million viewers and 15% in Adults 18-49 (w/o 7/20/09 = 4.0 million and 1.3/4), posting its 10th consecutive week of year-over-year gains on both counts.

· Compared to the same point last year, ABC's summer results are up by 24% in Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 4.9 million) and by 25% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.6/5). In fact the Net is producing its most-watched summer in 9 years - since 2001.

Rankings: ABC claimed 3 of the Top 7 TV programs for the week in Adults 18-49, including the No. 1 show with "The Bachelorette": "The Bachelorette" - No. 1, "Wipeout-TUES" - No. 4 and "Wipeout-THURS" - No. 7. The Net also aired 3 of the Top 6 most-watched television shows overall during the week: "The Bachelorette" - No. 2, "Wipeout-TUES" - No. 5 and "Wipeout-THURS" - No. 6. For the 4th week in a row, ABC's "The Bachelorette" qualified as the No. 1 TV show with key Women (W18-49/W25-54). ABC News owned the Top 2 newsmagazines of the week with Friday's "20/20" and "Primetime: What Would You Do?" in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. Among Adults 18-49, ABC News delivered TV's No. 1 newsmagazine for the 6th week in a row and for the 7th time in the last 8 weeks this summer.

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 37% currently, from 32% 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

Growing from the previous Monday for the 2nd week in a row, ABC stood as the most-watched network overall for the 5th week in a row and ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 7th straight Monday, posting a summer-high performance in both Nielsen measures. The Network beat its nearest primetime competition (CBS) by 2.6 million viewers (8.5 million vs. 5.9 million) and by 61% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/9 vs. 1.8/5).

· Building its overall Monday audience year to year for the 8th time in 8 weeks, ABC improved on the same night last year in viewers and young adults (7.4 million and 2.6/8 on 7/20/09).

"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:02 p.m.)

ABC's "The Bachelorette" ranked a strong No. 1 in its time period for the 8th consecutive week, beating its closest time period competition (CBS) by 3.9 million viewers (10.1 million vs. 6.2 million) and by 70% (3.4/10 vs. 2.0/6). The veteran ABC unscripted series won all 4 of its half-hours in viewers and young adults.

· "The Bachelorette" registered as Monday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 for the 6th week in a row, and for the 8th week running stood the evening's dominant No. 1 television program across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "The Bachelorette" achieved season-highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact excluding season finales, the series drew its biggest audience since February 2004 (since 2/18/04 during Season 2) and its highest Adult 18-49 rating since February 2005 (since 2/21/05 during Season 3).

· On average, "The Bachelorette" is up over its performance at the same point last year by 1.6 million viewers (9.6 million vs. 8.0 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 vs. 2.8/8).

"True Beauty" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

With its season finale, ABC's "True Beauty" ranked No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour against its CBS and NBC competition among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5) for the 2nd straight week.

· On average during its run, "True Beauty" improved its time period this summer for ABC by 6% in Total Viewers (5.3 million vs. 5.0 million) over the same weeks last year.

Tuesday

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC's Tuesday lineup improved on the same night last year (7/21/09) in Total Viewers (+1.6 million - 4.9 million vs. 3.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+55% - 1.7/5 vs. 1.1/3). In fact the Net is up over the year-ago night for the 7th time in 8 weeks this summer.

"Wipeout-TUES" (8:00-9:01 p.m.)

ABC's "Wipeout" won its hour for the 3rd time in its last 4 original telecasts in the time-slot among Adults 18-49 (2.9/10), topping Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" by 7% (2.7/9). In fact, the ABC unscripted series ranked No. 1 in the hour for the 4th original airing in a row among Adults 25-54 and key Men (M18-49/M25-54).

· "Wipeout" hit season-highs among Adults 18-34 (2.5/9) and Men (2.3/9). In fact, "Wipeout" equaled its top Adults 18-34 performance in nearly 2 years - since 7/29/08.

"Downfall" (9:01-10:01 p.m.)

Against well-established competition in the hour on NBC ("America's Got Talent"), CBS ("NCIS: Los Angeles") and Fox ("Hell's Kitchen"), "Downfall" improved ABC's deliveries on the same night last year by 1.4 million viewers (3.2 million vs. 1.8 million) and by 57% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 0.7/2).

Thursday

ABC's summer Thursday lineup ranked No. 1 on the night against its broadcast rivals in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6-tie) for the 2nd consecutive week.

· Delivering substantial year-to-year improvement on Thursday, ABC more than doubled its performance from the same night last summer (7/23/09) in Total Viewers (+3.6 million - 6.3 million vs. 2.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+113% - 1.7/6 vs. 0.8/2). In fact the Network saw its 7th straight Thursday of year-to-year primetime gains.

"Wipeout-THURS" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Wipeout" led the 8 o'clock hour in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, beating its unscripted competition in the time period, CBS' "Big Brother 12," in Total Viewers (+1.2 million - 7.9 million vs. 6.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+18% - 2.6/9 vs. 2.2/9) for the 2nd straight week. In fact, the ABC unscripted series has ranked No. 1 in the 8:00 p.m. hour in the key young adult demo for 4th time in the last 5 weeks, while holding the No. 1 position the 5th week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 (3.0/10) and key Men (M18-49/M25-54).

· "Wipeout" stood as Thursday's No. 1 program in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row.

"Rookie Blue" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

TV's No. 1 new series of the summer, ABC's "Rookie Blue" ran a strong second at 9:00 p.m. among the broadcast networks in Total Viewers (6.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.5/6).

· "Rookie Blue" continued to post strong year-to-year increases for ABC in the hour, more than doubling the Net's performance among Total Viewers (+3.8 million - 6.5 million vs. 2.7 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+88% - 1.5/6 vs. 0.8/3) over its performance on the year-ago night.

"Boston Med" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News' "Boston Med" took second place in the 10 o'clock hour against its CBS and NBC competition with Total Viewers (4.5 million) and Women 25-54 (2.0/5).

· Versus the year-ago night, "Boston Med" boosted the 10 o'clock hour for ABC by 2.3 million viewers (4.5 million vs. 2.2 million) and by 83% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4 vs. 0.6/2).

Friday

For the 3rd consecutive week, ABC ranked No. 1 among the broadcast networks on Friday in Adults 18-49 (1.5/6), beating NBC by 36% (1.1/4), CBS by 50% (1.0/4) and Fox by 67% (0.9/3). In fact, ABC posted its strongest summer performance in the key young adult demo in over 3 years - since 6/8/07.

"Wife Swap" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Wife Swap" delivered its best numbers of the summer in both Total Viewers (3.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.2/5).

· "Wife Swap" substantially improved ABC's performance in the hour from the same night last year (7/24/09) in both viewers (+2.0 million - 3.8 million vs. 1.8 million) and young adults (+100% - 1.2/5 vs. 0.6/2).

"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

An encore telecast of ABC News' "Primetime: What Would You Do?" led the 9 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (5.0 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.9/6). In fact, the ABC newsmagazine has ranked No. 1 at 9:00 p.m. in the Adults 25-54 news demo for the 3rd consecutive week and for the 4th time in the last 5 weeks.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News' "20/20" won the final hour of prime in Total Viewers (6.3 million), Adults 18-49 (1.8/7) and Adults 25-54 (2.3/7), taking the top spot in the 2 key adult demographics for the 3rd week running. In addition, the ABC newsmagazine hit summer highs among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 for the 2nd straight week.

· "20/20" registered as Friday's No. 1 program in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, standing as the night's top program in the key Adults 25-54 news demo for the 3rd week in a row and for the 4th time in the last 5 weeks.

Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 7/19/10, unless stated otherwise. Summer = 5/31-7/25/10 vs. 5/25-7/26/09.

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