ABC Sees Top Memorial Day Ratings In 4 Years

With The Bachelorette and the season opener of True Beauty on Memorial Day, ABC took second place on the night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while finishing #1 on Monday with Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and across key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· ABC was up from Memorial Day Monday last year (5/25/09), when it aired The Bachelorette into the premiere of Here Come the Newlyweds, by 1.3 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49, despite facing competition from the Stanly Cup Finals Game 2 this year. In fact in viewers and young adults, ABC marked its strongest Memorial Day results in 4 years - since 2006.

ABC's The Bachelorette finished #1 in its 2-hour time period (8-10pm) with Total Viewers (tie), Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. The ABC unscripted series also won its 2-hour slot for the 2nd straight week among its core audience of Women 18-34. In fact The Bachelorette stood as Monday's #1 TV show with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· The Bachelorette posted year-to-year increases over its performance on Memorial Day last year of 1.6 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49.

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's season premiere of True Beauty earned second place in Adults 18-49 and finished #1 across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· True Beauty improved the hour year to year for ABC, up over the Memorial Day premiere of Here Come the Newlyweds last year by 10% in Total Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49.

Quick Take for Monday, May 31, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on the Night in Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and All Key Women, Marking is Best Memorial Day Results in Viewers and Adults 18-49 Since 2006

Up Over its Year-Ago Performance, ABC's "The Bachelorette" Leads its 2-Hour Time Period in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"The Bachelorette" is Monday's No. 1 Program Among Key Women Demos

Premiere of "True Beauty" Improves its Time Period in Viewers and Young Adults

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With "The Bachelorette" and the season opener of "True Beauty" on Memorial Day, ABC took second place on the night in Total Viewers (6.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), while finishing No. 1 on Monday with Adults 18-34 (1.9/6), Adults 25-54 (2.8/7-tie) and across key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· ABC was up from Memorial Day Monday last year (5/25/09), when it aired "The Bachelorette" into the premiere of "Here Come the Newlyweds," by 1.3 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49, despite facing competition from the Stanley Cup Finals' Game 2 on NBC this year. In fact in viewers and young adults, ABC marked its strongest Memorial Day results in 4 years - since 2006.

"The Bachelorette - SP - 5/31" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's "The Bachelorette" finished No. 1 in its 2-hour time period (8:00-10:00 p.m.) with Total Viewers (7.6 million-tie), Adults 18-49 (2.4/7) and Adults 18-34 (2.0/7). The ABC unscripted series also won its time-slot for the 2nd straight week among its core audience of Women 18-34 (3.0/10). In fact "The Bachelorette" stood as Monday's No. 1 TV show with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· "The Bachelorette" posted year-to-year increases over its performance on Memorial Day last year of 1.6 million viewers and 14% in Adults 18-49 (6.0 million vs. 2.1/6 on 5/25/09).

"True Beauty - 5/31" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's season premiere of "True Beauty" earned second place in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) and finished No. 1 across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "True Beauty" improved the hour year to year for ABC, up over the Memorial Day premiere of "Here Come the Newlyweds" last year by 10% in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 4.9 million) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.9/5).

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 36% currently, from 31% 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 5/31/10.

To post a comment, you must register and login.