ABC Network Continues Big Ratings Growth

The primetime ratings report for the week of December 12, 2011 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings) shows that ABC is up Year to Year for the 3rd straight week on Monday with Young Adults. 

ABC's "Castle" Repeat Attracts More Viewers than NBC's First-Run "Rock Center"

Continuing to Post Big Year-to-Year Growth in its Slot, ABC's "Last Man Standing" Is Tuesday's No. 1 Most-Watched Comedy, Topping Fox's "Glee"-led "New Girl"

ABC's "Body of Proof" Generates the Series' Strongest-Ever Repeat Performance

ABC's Repeat Wednesday Comedies Post Double-Digit Year-Over-Year Growth

ABC's Replay "Modern Family" Tops Fox's "X Factor"-Fueled "Teenage Daughter"

ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" Surges Over its Lead-in and Gains Audience Throughout its 90-Minute Broadcast

ABC's "The Year with Katie Couric" Earns Strong Year-Over-Year Time Slot Increases

ABC's Repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Once Upon a Time" Outdraw Fox's Animated Comedies from 7-9pm on Sunday Evening

WEEK No. 13:

Monday

With a rebroadcast of "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown," "You Deserve It" and a repeat airing of "Castle," ABC grew over the same night last year by 10% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 1.0/3 on 12/13/10). It was the Net's 3rd consecutive Monday to post year-to-year improvement on the night.

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Building on its "You Deserve It" lead-in by 21% at 10:00 p.m. (4.1 million vs. 3.4 million), ABC's "Castle" repeat attracted more viewers than NBC's original "Rock Center with BrIan Williams" (4.0 million), despite the NBC newsmagazine's biggest-ever lead-in coming out of the 2-hour season premiere of "Fear Factor."

Tuesday

"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

At 8 o'clock, ABC's "Last Man Standing" earned second place in its half-hour with Total Viewers (7.5 million), outdrawing Fox's "Glee" by 4% (7.2 million) and NBC's special "Will & Kate: Inside the Royal Marriage" by 44% (5.2 million). The ABC freshman comedy also topped the NBC special by 83% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.2/3). In addition, self-starter "Last Man" continued to finish as Tuesday's most-watched comedy, leading Fox's runner-up "Glee"-fueled "New Girl" at 9:00 p.m. by 10% (6.8 million).

· On average since its premiere, "Last Man Standing" has boosted the half-hour for ABC by 2.8 million viewers (11.3 million vs. 8.5 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/9 vs. 2.4/7) over original series programming on the comparable nights last year.

"Last Man Standing-12/13" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

In the 8:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's replay "Last Man Standing" dominated NBC's "Will & Kate" special by 17% in Total Viewers (6.2 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 54% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/5 vs. 1.3/3).

· "Last Man Standing" delivered ABC's top young adult number in the time slot in nearly 2 months - since 10/18/11.

"The Middle-Tue 12/13" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

ABC's repeat "The Middle" soared over the prior week's replay in the time slot by 21% in Total Viewers (4.6 million vs. 3.8 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.0/3).

"Body of Proof" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Body of Proof" scored its best-ever repeat numbers, surpassing its previous highs by 14% in Total Viewers (4.8 million vs. 4.2 million on 7/24/11) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 0.9/3 on 8/7/11).

· The ABC sophomore drama improved its time period year to year by impressive margins, up by 23% in Total Viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49 over the year-ago night (3.9 million and 0.8/2 on 12/14/10).

Wednesday

During the first half of the night, ABC's repeat comedies ("The Middle"/"Suburgatory"/"Modern Family") rose sharply over encore comedies in the 90-minute time period on the same Wednesday last year among Total Viewers (+11% - 5.9 million vs. 5.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.6/5).

· ABC's 9:00 p.m. repeat "Modern Family" outdelivered Fox's "X Factor"-fueled first-run "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" at 9:30 p.m. by 1.5 million viewers (6.6 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 1.8/5).

"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" (9:31-11:00 p.m.)

Surging over its repeat "Modern Family" lead-in by 1.8 million viewers and gaining audience throughout its 90-minute broadcast, ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" earned second place in its time period with viewers (8.4 million) and key Adult demos: AD18-49 (2.3/6) and AD25-54 (2.9/7). In addition, the ABC special highlighting some of the year's most prominent names in entertainment, sports and politics, finished No. 1 against its network rivals with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34. Steve Jobs was named the most fascinating person of 2011.

· "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" generated big year-over-year improvement for ABC in the 90-minute time period, with Total Viewers (+105%), Adults 18-49 (+53%) and Adults 25-54 (+61%).

Thursday

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

During the 8 o'clock hour opposite Fox's "X Factor Results Show" and CBS' repeat and original comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Rules of Engagement"), ABC's second rebroadcast this year of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" beat out NBC's encore comedies ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation") by wide margins with Total Viewers (+220% - 6.4 million vs. 2.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+157% - 1.8/5 vs. 0.7/2). The ABC animated Peanuts holiday special ran a strong No. 1 in the hour with Kids 2-11, leading runner-up "X Factor" by 59% (2.7/9 vs. 1.7/6) to stand as the highest-rated broadcast TV program of the evening.

"The Year with Katie Couric" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's special "The Year with Katie Couric" earned 2nd place against its broadcast competition in its 2-hour time period with Total Viewers (5.5 million) and Adults 25-54 (2.0/5).

· "The Year with Katie Couric" delivered substantial year-over-year increases for ABC in the 2-hour time period, boosting the slot by 2.0 million viewers, by 36% in Adults 18-49 and by 43% in Adults 25-54.

Friday

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" finished No. 1 against its network rivals across all key Adult demographics (A18-34/A18-49/A25-54). "Home Edition" (1.2/4) topped runner-up Fox with a special repeat of "Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown" in Adults 18-49 by 20% (1.0/3) and NBC's original "Chuck" by 33% (0.9/3).

· Surging week to week by 20% in Adults 18-49, "Home Edition" matched ABC's 2nd-highest young adult number in the time period this season, while hitting a season high with Adults 18-34.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition-9P" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

A second installment of "Home Edition" at 9:00 p.m. led its net rivals across key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49). The ABC unscripted series also beat NBC's "Grimm" by 13% in Adults 18-34 (0.9/4 vs. 0.8/3).

Saturday

"Wipeout-SP-12/17" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's encore "Winter Wipeout" beat NBC's replay "Grimm" in the 8:00 p.m. hour by 35% in Total Viewers (2.7 million vs. 2.0 million) and by 40% in Adults 18-49 (0.7/3 vs. 0.5/2). In addition, "Wipeout" was the top-rated broadcast program in the hour among Teens 12-17.

"CMA Country Christmas-12/17" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's special rebroadcast of "CMA Country Christmas" outdrew NBC's original and repeat programming in the 2-hour block ("WWE Tribute to the Troops"/"Law & Order: SVU") by 25% in Total Viewers (3.5 million vs. 2.8 million).

Sunday

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

At 7:00 p.m., ABC's replay "America's Funniest Home Videos" was the 2nd-most watched program (6.4 million), drawing a larger overall audience than pre-game football coverage on NBC (6.2 million). In addition, the repeat video clip show outdrew its encore competition in the hour on Fox ("American Dad"/"Cleveland" = 3.1 million) by 3.3 million viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 1.2/3).

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's rebroadcast "Once Upon a Time" topped Fox's repeat and original animated comedies ("The Simpsons"/"Allen Gregory") in the 8 o'clock hour by 5% in Total Viewers (4.4 million vs. 4.2 million).

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 12/12/11.

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