ABC Wins 5th Straight Monday in Adults 18-49

On the Monday of the extended 4th of July holiday weekend, ABC finished as the most-watched network overall for the 3rd week in a row and ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 5th consecutive Monday. In fact, ABC is registering its longest Adult 18-49 winning streak on the night in more than 3 years - since April-May 2007. The Network topped its nearest primetime competition (CBS) by 13% in Total Viewers (7.8 million vs. 6.9 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.8/5).

· Building its overall Monday audience year to year for the 6th week in a row, ABC was up from the same night last year in viewers and young adults (6.6 million and 2.3/7 on 7/6/09).

Please Note: With the observation of the 4th of July holiday falling on Monday, overall TV usage levels declined week-to-week, as Households Using Television during primetime dropped to 57.5% from 58.7% on 6/28/10.

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

ABC's "The Bachelorette" ranked a strong No. 1 in its time period for the 6th week running, beating its closest 8:00-10:00 p.m. competition (CBS) by 2.3 million viewers (9.1 million vs. 6.8 million) and by 35% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.0/6). The veteran ABC unscripted series won all 4 of its half-hours in viewers and young adults. During its final half-hour (9:30-10:00 p.m.), featuring Chris Harrison's interview with Jake and Vienna, "The Bachelorette" drew an average audience of 10.1 million viewers and 3.2/9 in Adults 18-49.

· "The Bachelorette" registered as Monday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 for the 4th week in a row, and for the 6th week running stood the evening's dominant No. 1 television program across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· On average, "The Bachelorette" is up over its performance at the same point last year by 1.2 million (9.0 million vs. 7.8 million) viewers and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9 vs. 2.8/8).

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

ABC's "True Beauty" ranked No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour for the 4th week in a row with key Women (W18-49/W25-54).

· On average, "True Beauty" is growing its time period this summer for ABC by 6% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.7 million).

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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 7/5/10.

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