ABC Sees Impressive Wednesday Night Ratings Gains

Opposite an "Idol"-fueled Fox on Wednesday night, ABC (2.1/7) once again beat out CBS (+24% - 1.7/5) and NBC (+75% - 1.2/4) by wide margins with Adults 18-34.

· Up over the prior week in viewers (+5% - 6.2 million vs. 5.9 million) and young adults (+10% - 2.3/6 vs. 2.1/6), ABC equaled a 13-week Wednesday high among Adults 18-49 - since 2/9/11. The Net also posted its top Adult 18-34 number on the night in more than 3 months (2/9/11).

· Rising over the same night last May Sweep (5/12/10) with viewers and young adults, ABC built its overall Wednesday audience year to year for the 18th time in the last 21 weeks.

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Opposite the first half-hour of Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' "Survivor: Redemption Island" at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" more than doubled the performance of NBC's "Minute to Win It" among Total Viewers (+132% - 7.2 million vs. 3.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+163% - 2.1/7 vs. 0.8/3). Additionally in the half-hour, "The Middle" defeated "Survivor" for the 2nd week in a row with Women 18-34, leading the CBS unscripted series by 11% (2.0/7 vs. 1.8/6).

· Up for the 2nd straight week in viewers and young adults, "The Middle" scored its best numbers since the beginning of March - since 3/2/11.

· Season to date, ABC's "The Middle" is TV's 2nd-biggest year-to-year gainer (behind only "Modern Family") among returning broadcast series, jumping by 23% in Total Viewers (8.1 million vs. 6.6 million) over its performance in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour at the same point last season.

"Better with You" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:30 p.m. opposite the second half-hours of "Idol" and "Survivor," ABC's freshman season finale of "Better with You" doubled the numbers for the second half-hour of NBC's "Minute To Win It" in viewers (+100% - 6.0 million vs. 3.0 million) and young adults (best-ever +111% - 1.9/6 vs. 0.9/3). Like its lead-in, the ABC freshman comedy finished No. 2 in its time period to "Idol" with Women 18-34 (1.9/6-tie). In addition, "Better with You" exhibited impressive lead-in retention among Adults 18-49 (90%) and Adults 18-34 (94%).

· Delivering its 2nd week of growth and surging week to week by 11% in Viewers (6.0 million vs. 5.4 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.6/5), ABC's "Better with You" produced its highest numbers on the evening in more than 3 months - since 2/9/11.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Surging over its lead-in against the third half-hour of "Idol" at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family was the dominant scripted show in its slot among Adults 18-49, beating runner-up CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 35% (4.2/11 vs. 3.1/8).

· TV's No. 1 comedy this season (also the top-rated scripted show), ABC's "Modern Family" stood as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted show for its 22nd straight first-run airing this season in the key young adult sales demographic.

· Building week to week in viewers (10.1 million vs. 9.9 million) and young adults (4.2/11 vs. 3.9/10), "Modern Family" turned in its strongest results since March - since 3/23/11. In addition, jumping over the prior week by 14% (4.1/12 vs. 3.6/11), the show marked its top Adult 18-34 number since the beginning of February - since 2/9/11.

· Season to date, "Modern Family" is the fastest-growing show on the broadcast nets, up over this point last year by 27% in Viewers (11.8 vs 9.3 million) and 26% in A18-49 (4.8/12 vs. 3.8/10).

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

In the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC's "Cougar Town" ranked No. 2 in its slot among Adults 18-49 (2.4/6-tie), while finishing No. 1 with Adults 18-34 (2.2/6-tie) and Women 18-34 (2.8/8).

· Gaining for the 2nd week running, "Cougar Town" postEd Strong week-to-week gains in Total Viewers (+11%), Adults 18-49 (+9%) and Adults 18-34 (+16%). In fact the show marked its highest Adult 18-49 number since the start of February and its top Adult 18-34 number since the start of January - since 2/2/11 and 1/5/11, respectively.

"Happy Endings" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's back-to-back airings of "Happy Endings" generated enormous year-to-year improvement for ABC in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour, jumping over original drama programming on the same night last year by 30% in Total Viewers (3.9 million vs. 3.0 million), by 45% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.1/3) and by 129% in Adults 18-34 (1.6/5 vs. 0.7/2).

· With "Happy Endings," ABC grew week to week in the hour by 8% in Total Viewers (3.9 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.5/4).

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 41% currently, from 36% at the same point in 2010. 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.

Source: The Nielsen Company (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 5/4/11.

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