ABC Tops Year-Ago Numbers for Six Weeks Straight
By: Nicolas Coburn Jun. 29, 2010
During the week of June 21, 2010, ABC ranked as the No. 2 network with Adults 18-49 (1.5/5-tie). The Net finished No. 1 for the week with Adults 25-54 (1.9/6-tie), Women 18-49 (1.9/6) and Women 25-54 (2.3/7). In fact among Women 18-49, ABC is registering its longest summer winning streak in 5 years - since June-July 2005.
· For the 6th week in a row, ABC grew its numbers from the same week last year (w/o 6/22/09), building by 13% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.5 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.3/4).
· In viewers and young adults, ABC marked its strongest non-NBA summer week in 2 years - since w/o 7/7/08.
Rankings: ABC aired 6 of the week's Top 20 primetime TV shows in Adults 18-49, including 3 of the Top 8: "Wipeout-TUES" - No. 3, "The Bachelorette" - No. 7, "Wipeout-THURS" - No. 8, while "Rookie Blue," "Downfall" and "True Beauty" tied at No. 19. The Net also placed 4 of the Top 15 most-watched primetime programs overall: "Wipeout-TUES" - No. 4, "The Bachelorette" - No. 8, "Wipeout-THURS" - No. 10 and "Rookie Blue" - No. 15. ABC's "The Bachelorette" registered as the week's No. 1 TV show with Women 18-49, while "Wipeout-TUES" was the No. 1 show in prime with Men 18-49. ABC News' "20/20" finished as the TV's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, rising to the top for the 3rd time in 4 weeks in Adults 18-49.
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
Featuring "The Bachelorette" and "True Beauty," ABC took first place on Monday night in both Total Viewers (7.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/8). In fact the Net ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for its 3rd consecutive Monday, beating second-place CBS by 32% (1.9/6), third-place Fox by 67% (1.5/5) and fourth-place NBC by 92% (1.3/4). ABC ranked No. 1 in all 3 hours of the evening among Adults 18-49.
· Building its overall Monday audience year to year for the 4th straight week, ABC was up over the year-ago Monday (6/22/09) by 1.5 million viewers and 25% in Adults 18-49 (5.8 million and 2.0/6).
"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:02 p.m.)
Once again leading its 2-hour time period, ABC's "The Bachelorette" finished No. 1 for the 4th week in a row, dominating its nearest time-slot competition (CBS) by 1.4 million viewers (8.3 million vs. 6.9 million) and by 35% (2.7/9 vs. 2.0/6). The show gained viewers and young adults during each half-hour of its 2-hour broadcast.
· "The Bachelorette" stood as Monday's No. 1 program in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row and registered as the night's definitive No. 1 television show for the 4th week running across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In fact "The Bachelorette" overshadowed the No. 2 shows of the night by 46% in Women 18-49 (4.1/12 vs. 2.8/8 - ABC's "True Beauty" and CBS' "Big Bang Theory" tied).
· "The Bachelorette" built its overall audience from the year-ago night for the 3rd week in a row, surging by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+22%) and Adults 18-49 (+17%). Hitting a summer high in Adults 18-49, the show posted its top rating since its season opener coming out of the "DWTS" finale on the concluding Monday of the TV Season (5/24/10).
"True Beauty" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "True Beauty" ran No. 1 against its network competition for the 3rd consecutive week in Adults 18-49. The ABC unscripted series beat out NBC's original scripted series, "Persons Unknown," by best-yet margins in both Total Viewers (+2.3 million - 5.2 million vs. 2.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+90% - 1.9/6 vs. 1.0/3).
· "True Beauty" achieved season highs with Adults 18-34 and among key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49).
· "True Beauty" once again substantially improved its time period for ABC over the year-ago night with original programming, boosting the hour by 1.3 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (3.9 million and 1.4/4 on 6/22/09 w/ "Here Come the Newlyweds").
Tuesday
ABC generated strong year-to-year improvement in Total Viewers (+2.9 million viewers - 6.4 million vs. 3.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+62% - 2.1/7 vs. 1.3/4) with its new Tuesday summer lineup over the year-ago night (6/23/09). In fact, ABC was up in each hour of the evening.
"Wipeout-TUES" (8:00-9:01 p.m.)
ABC's season premiere of "Wipeout" ranked No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49, beating the opening hour or Fox's 2-hour "Hell's Kitchen" by 11% (3.1/11 vs. 2.8/9). The ABC unscripted series also won its hour and finished as the No. 1 TV show of the night with Adults 18-34 (2.5/9) and Men 18-49 (2.9/10). "Wipeout" was the No. 2 TV show of the evening in Adults 18-49, behind only NBC's Tuesday veteran, "America's Got Talent."
· In Total Viewers (9.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/11), "Wipeout" generated ABC's best summer numbers in the hour in nearly 2 years - since 7/29/08.
· "Wipeout" scored the series' best numbers since July 2008 (7/29/08) with Total Viewers and Adults 18-34, and since May 2009 with Adults 18-49 (5/27/09). The show equaled its highest-ever rating with Teens 12-17 (2.7/11).
"Downfall" (9:01-10:01 p.m.)
Against stiff, established, unscripted competition on NBC (opening hour of "America's Got Talent") and Fox (second hour of "Hell's Kitchen"), the series debut of "Downfall" greatly improved the hour for ABC year to year, surging by 2.7 million viewers (5.7 million vs. 3.0 million) and by 58% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.2/4) over the year-ago night.
"Primetime: Mind Games" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10 o'clock hour, the series premiere of ABC News' "Primetime: Mind Games" earned second place among its broadcast rivals among Adults 18-49 (1.3/4) to the second hour of NBC's 2-hour "America's Got Talent." "Primetime: Mind Games" also finished No. 2 against its network competition in the hour among Adults 25-54 (1.5/4) and Women 18-49 (1.6/4).
· "Primetime: Mind Games" boosted the hour year to year for ABC by 18% in Total Viewers (3.9 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.1/3) over the year-ago night with original programming.
Wednesday
"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Twilight Saga: Total Eclipse of the Heart" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in in viewers and young adults, ABC's special primetime broadcast, "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Twilight Saga: Total Eclipse of the Heart," turned in summer-high numbers for the Net in the time period among both Total Viewers (2.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.1/4). Further, ranking No. 1 in the hour, the "JKL" primetime special matched the Net's best summertime Women 18-34 number (1.7/5 - tied) in nearly 2 years - since 7/30/08.
· "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Twilight Saga: Total Eclipse of the Heart" generated increased sampling and exposure for "JKL" in primetime, posting increases of 71% in Total Viewers (2.9 million vs. 1.7 million) and 120% among Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 0.5/3) over its late-night 2009-10 TV Season averages.
Thursday
ABC's Thursday lineup ranked No. 1 on the night among Adults 18-49 (1.9/6), taking the Net to the top spot on the evening for the 4th week in a row and for the 5th time in the last 6 weeks.
· ABC saw strong year-to-year (6/25/09) improvement in Total Viewers (+1.1 million viewers - 6.7 million vs. 5.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+19% - 1.9/6 vs. 1.6/5), drawing the Net's best non-sports summer numbers in nearly 4 years in Total Viewers and in over 3 years among young adults - since 8/24/06 and 5/31/07, respectively.
"Wipeout-THURS" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
The Thursday premiere of ABC's "Wipeout" won its time period in both Total Viewers (7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/10), standing as Thursday's No. 1 program in the key young adult demo.
· In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Wipeout" registered ABC's strongest non-sports performance in the time period since November - since 11/19/09 and 11/12/09, respectively.
"Rookie Blue" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
The series opener of "Rookie Blue" drew 7.4 million viewers and a 1.9 rating, 6 share among Adults 18-49, winning the 9 o'clock hour in Total Viewers.
· "Rookie Blue" improved the hour year to year for ABC in Total Viewers (+1.5 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+12%) over original programming on the year-ago night ("20/20" special - 5.7 million & 1.7/5).
· In Adults 18-49, "Rookie Blue" stands as TV's top-rated summer scripted series debut in over 1 year and ABC's highest in nearly 6 years - since 5/26/09 and 7/18/04, respectively.
"Boston Med" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
At 10:00 p.m., ABC's series debut of "Boston Med" placed second in Total Viewers (5.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.3/4), turning in the Net's best performance in the hour with regular summer programming in over 1 year - since 5/28/09.
Friday
ABC topped its network rivals on Friday in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5), beating NBC by 8% (1.2/4) and CBS and Fox by 30% (1.0/4-tied).
· ABC drew its largest summer audience (4.8 million) on the night in over 2 years and matched its best Adults 18-49 (1.3/5) summer performance in nearly 3 years - since 5/30/08 and 7/13/07, respectively.
"20/20" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC News' 2-hour "20/20: Michael Jackson: After Life" delivered the newsmagazine's best numbers in 6 weeks in Total Viewers (5.2 million), Adults 18-49 (1.4/5) and Adults 25-54 (2.0/6) - since 5/14/10. "20/20" featured an exclusive look into Michael Jackson from those in his inner circle who have never spoken before, plus reports on his children, the investigation into his death, his money, and his legacy on the year anniversary after his death.
· "20/20" saw its audience increase from its first hour to its second hour by 1.7 million viewers (4.4 million to 6.1 million), by 45% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4 to 1.6/6) and by 35% in Adults 25-54 (1.7/5 to 2.3/7), winning the final hour of primetime on each Nielsen measure.
Sunday
ABC finished No. 2 on Sunday evening against its broadcast competitors among Adults 18-49 (1.1/3-tie), and ranked No. 1 for the 3rd time in 4 weeks with Women 18-49 (1.3/4-tie).
· The Network improved its results over the year-ago Sunday by 10% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 1.0/3 on 6/28/09).
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
ABC's repeat airing of "America's Funniest Home Videos" ranked No. 1 in the 7 o'clock hour against its original broadcast competition among young adults: AD18-34 (0.7/3-tie) and AD18-49 (1.1/4). In addition, the replay of the broad-appealing ABC video clip-show took first place against its network competitors with Teens 12-17 (0.7/3) and Kids 2-11 (0.8/4).
· With the replay "AFV," ABC was up in the hour over the year-ago night by 5% in Total Viewers (4.5 million vs. 4.3 million) and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4 vs. 1.0/4).
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m., ABC's rebroadcast "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" earned second place in its time period with Total Viewers (4.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.3/4). The repeat ABC unscripted series delivered the No. 1 position in the hour in Adults 25-54 and Women 18-49.
· "Home Edition's" numbers surged year to year by 1.0 million viewers and by 30% in Adults 18-49 (3.8 million and 1.0/3 on 6/28/09).
"Scoundrels" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Scoundrels" beat the opening hour of "The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards" and NBC's original "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" among Women 18-34 (0.9/3), Men 18-49 (0.9/2) and Men 25-54 (1.3/3).
"The Gates" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "The Gates" finished No. 2 against the "Daytime Emmys" and "Criminal Intent" with Adults 18-34 (0.7/2) and Adults 18-49 (1.1/3).
Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 6/21/10, unless stated otherwise.
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