ABC is 2nd-Most-Watched Network for Week of 9/26

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of September 26, 2011 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Stands as the 2nd-Most-Watched Net, Airing 4 of the Week's Top 20 Shows, Including the Top 2 Unscripted Series with "DWTS" and "DWTS: The Results"

For the 2nd Week Running, ABC is the Only Net to Improve Year to Year In the 10pm Hour, Once Again Posting Double-Digit Percentage Gains

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Outdraws CBS' "Two and a Half Men"-Fueled Comedy Block in Viewers and Beats Fox's "Terra Nova" Debut in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Castle" Stands as the Most-Watched TV Series in Monday's 10pm Hour

ABC's "DWTS: The Results" Retains 100% of its Week-Ago Season Premiere Adult 18-49 Audience and Builds on its Opener by 3% with Women 18-49

Improving its Hour Year to Year, ABC's "Body of Proof" Draws a Larger Overall Audience Than NBC's "Parenthood" for the 2nd Consecutive Week

"Suburgatory" Opens as ABC's Biggest Comedy in the Time Period in 8 Years

ABC's "Modern Family" is Wednesday's No. 1 TV Show for the 2nd Week in a Row

ABC's "Happy Endings" Opens its Sophomore Season at Series Highs

ABC's "Revenge" Posts Big Time-Period Growth and Defeats NBC's "L&O: SVU"

"Charlie's Angels" Continues to Generate Substantial Year-Over-Year Improvement

"Grey's Anatomy" Stands as Thursday's Dominant No. 1 Drama in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Private Practice" Opens its 5th Season with a 10-Month High in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Saturday Night Football" is Up Year to Year for its 4th Straight Telecast

Retaining Nearly All of its Week-Ago Season Premiere Audience, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Beats CBS' "The Good Wife" by 36% in Adults 18-49

Continuing to Exhibit ABC's Best Lead-in Retention in More than 5 Years, "Pan Am" Is the No. 1 Non-Sports Show in its Hour in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Week Running

WEEK No. 2:

ABC (8.7 million) finished as the 2nd-most-watched network during the week of September 26, 2011, outdrawing Fox by 18% (7.4 million) and NBC by 23% (7.1 million). The Net also ranked No. 2 for the week across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· For the 2nd week in a row this season, ABC was the only net to grow in the 10 o'clock hour year over year. On Monday-Friday from 10:00-11:00 p.m., the Net once again delivered double-digit percentage year-to-year improvement in Total Viewers (+11% - 8.2 million vs. 7.4 million), Adults 18-49 (+15% - 2.3/6 vs. 2.0/6) and Adults 25-54 (+12% - 2.9/7 vs. 2.6/7). CBS and NBC were both down in the hour for the 2nd week running across all three Nielsen measures.

Rankings: ABC delivered 4 of the week's Top 20 TV shows in Total Viewers, including the Top 2 unscripted series with "DWTS" and "DWTS: The Results:" "DWTS" - No. 7, "DWTS: The Results" - No. 9, "Modern Family" - No. 11 and "Castle" - No. 20. ABC's "Modern Family" finished as the No. 2 scripted show for the week in Adults 18-49, behind only CBS' "Two and a Half Men." In addition, the ABC Emmy-winning comedy stood as the week's No. 1 scripted show with Women 18-34.

Monday

Featuring "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC (14.7 million - tied w/ESPN) ranked No. 1 on Monday in Total Viewers for the 2nd week in a row, topping CBS by 1.5 million viewers (13.2 million - "HIMYM"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0"), Fox by 5.5 million viewers (9.2 million - 2-hour series debut of "Terra Nova") and NBC by 10.4 million viewers (4.3 million - 2-hour "The Sing Off"/"The Playboy Club"). Among Adults 18-49, ABC (3.2/8) outdelivered Fox's prime (3.1/8) with its highly-promoted 2-hour debut of "Terra Nova" and doubled NBC's delivery (+100% - 1.6/4).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)

Growing its audience from its first hour to its second hour against CBS' "Two and a Half Men"-fueled comedy block from 8:00 -10:00 p.m., "Dancing with the Stars" once again made ABC the most-watched net in its time period, outdrawing CBS by 2.0 million viewers (16.2 million vs. 14.2 million). Head to head among Adults 18-49, ABC's "DWTS" (3.3/8) defeated Fox's 2-hour "Terra Nova" debut by 6% (3.1/8) and NBC's "The Sing Off" by 94% (1.7/4).

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "Castle" (11.7 million) stood as the most-watched TV show in the 10 o'clock hour, besting CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" (+4% - 11.3 million) and nearly tripling NBC's "The Playboy Club" (+193% - 4.0 million). The ABC drama once again doubled "The Playboy Club" with Adults 18-49 (+115% - 2.8/7 vs. 1.3/3). In addition, "Castle" registered as the No. 1 series in the hour for the 2nd week running with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· In Total Viewers, ABC's Castle was up over it year-ago performance on the evening (11.1 million - 9/27/10).

Tuesday

With a "Dancing" special, "DWTS: The Results" and "Body of Proof," ABC (11.1 million) stood as the 2nd-most-watched net on Tuesday night to CBS ("NCIS"/"NCIS: LA"/"Unforgettable"). The Net topped Fox on the night by 2.9 million viewers ("Glee"/"New Girl"/"Raising Hope" = 8.2 million) and NBC by 5.3 million viewers (2-hour "The Biggest Loser 12"/"Parenthood" = 5.8 million).

"Dancing W/Stars SP-9/27" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "DWTS: The Encore Performance" (9.3 million) finished No. 2 to CBS' top-rated "NCIS" in Total Viewers, outdrawing Fox's "Glee" by 10% (8.6 million) and the opening hour of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" by 64% (5.8 million).

"Dancing with the Stars: The Results" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Surging over its lead-in and building audience throughout its broadcast against strong competition, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: The Results" (14.4 million) registered as the 2nd-most-watched program in the 9 o'clock hour, pacing well ahead of Fox ("New Girl"/"Raising Hope" = 7.7 million) and NBC ("The Biggest Loser" = 5.9 million). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series also earned the No. 2 position in the hour with Adults 25-54, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49, while ranking No. 1 with Women 25-54. In addition, the show also finished No. 1 against its network rivals with Kids 2-11. Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis was the second celebrity dancer to leave the dance competition this season.

· The ABC unscripted series once again outdelivered its NBC unscripted competition in the hour by wide margins, beating the second hour of "The Biggest Loser" by 8.5 million viewers (14.4 million vs. 5.9 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/7 vs. 2.4/6).

· "DWTS: The Results" retained 100% of its week-earlier premiere among Adults 18-49 and grew week to week with Women 18-49 (+3%).

"Body of Proof" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Body of Proof" ran a solid second overall in the 10 o'clock hour, topping NBC's "Parenthood" by 3.7 million viewers (9.2 million vs. 5.5 million). The sophomore ABC drama also ranked No. 2 in its time slot with Adults 25-54 (2.6/6-tie) for the 2nd week running.

· Exhibiting much stronger lead-in retention for ABC in the hour year to year with viewers and young adults, "Body of Proof" improved its time period over the same night last year (9/28/10) in Total Viewers (+6%) and across all key Women: W18-34 (+13%), W18-49 (+4%) and W25-54 (+6%).

Wednesday

Despite facing Fox's 2-hour "The X Factor" on the night this year, ABC's numbers rose sharply over the same Wednesday last year in both Total Viewers (+29% - 9.4 million vs. 7.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+42% - 3.4/9 vs. 2.4/7). For the 2nd week in a row this season, ABC claimed Wednesday's definitive No. 1 TV show with "Modern Family" in viewers and young adults.

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

At 8:00 p.m. ABC's "The Middle" dominated its comedy competition in the half-hour, leading NBC's "Up All Night" by 3.4 million viewers (8.7 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 29% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.1/6). In addition, "The Middle" beat out CBS' "Survivor: South Pacific" in the slot by 33% in Adults 18-34 (2.0/7 vs. 1.5/5).

· Although it's facing "The X Factor" in the time period this year, "The Middle" was up from its performance on the year-ago night (8.4 million and 2.5/8 on 9/29/10) for the 2nd straight telecast among viewers (+4%) and young adults (+8%).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in by double-digit percentages among viewers (+13%) and young adults (+22%) at 8:30 p.m., the series debut of "Suburgatory" opened as ABC's biggest comedy premiere in the half hour in 8 years with Total Viewers (9.8 million) and in 6 years with Adults 18-49 (3.3/9) - since 10/1/03 and 10/12/05, respectively. Similarly to its lead-in, "Suburgatory" overshadowed its comedy competition in the half-hour, more than tripling the delivery of NBC's "Free Agents" (3.1 million and 1.0/3) in viewers (+216%) and Adults 18-49 (+230%). In fact, the new ABC comedy ran in a virtual tie with "Survivor" (3.4/9) in the slot among Adults 18-49 and beat the CBS reality series by an impressive 59% in Adults 18-34 (2.7/8 vs. 1.7/5).

· Topping the year-ago debut of "Better with You" (7.9 million and 2.5/7 on 9/22/10) in the half-hour by sizeable margins in viewers (+24%) and young adults (+32%), "Suburgatory" produced ABC's largest audience in the slot with a comedy telecast since November 2003 and its top young adult number since November 2005 - since 11/19/03 and 11/16/05, respectively.

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

Surging over its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. to win its time period over the third half-hour hour of "The X Factor" in viewers (+10% - 13.4 million vs. 12.2 million) and young adults (+36% - 5.7/15 vs. 4.2/11), ABC's "Modern Family finished as the night's No. 1 TV show and posted the series' 2nd-strongest regular telecast ever with viewers and young adults (behind only the prior week's season premiere). In fact, "Modern Family" achieved a new series high with Women 18-34 (6.8/18).

· Despite heightened competition year to year, "Modern Family" jumped over its year-ago telecast by 1.5 million viewers and by 24% in young adults (11.9 million and 4.6/13 on 9/29/10).

"Happy Endings" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:30 p.m. against the final half-hour of "The X Factor," the sophomore season premiere of ABC's "Happy Endings" scored series highs across all key Adult demos: AD18-34 (3.2/9), AD18-49 (3.1/8) and AD25-54 (3.5/8). "Happy Endings" stood as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Boosting its time slot from the year-ago night in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+11%), "Happy Endings" generated ABC's best performance in the time period with regular programming in nearly 8 months - since 2/9/11.

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

Building on its Total Viewer lead-in (+16% - 8.5 million vs. 7.3 million) during the 10:00 p.m. hour against veteran dramas on both CBS ("CSI") and NBC ("L&O: SVU"), ABC's freshman drama "Revenge" ran a strong second, beating NBC's veteran drama "L&O: SVU" by 18% in Total Viewers (8.5 million vs. 7.2 million) and by 29% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7 vs. 2.1/5). The new ABC drama ranked No. 1 in the hour for its 2nd straight telecast with Adults 18-34 and among key Women (W18-34/W25-54).

· "Revenge" continued to generate enormous time-period improvement for ABC, surging over the year-ago night ("The Whole Truth" = 4.6 million and 1.2/4) in viewers (+85%) and young adults (+125%).

Thursday

"Charlie's Angels" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Up against stiff competition from the opening hour of Fox's "The X Factor" and CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" into the debut of "How to be a Gentleman" from 8:00-9:00 p.m., "Charlie's Angels" continued to post substantial time period improvement for ABC and outdraw established comedies on NBC. In the hour, the new ABC drama (7.1 million) topped NBC's comedy block by 2.8 million viewers ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation" = 4.2 million). Against the strong competition on Fox and CBS, "Charlie's Angels" saw its numbers build from its first half-hour to its second half-hour among viewers (+6% - 6.9 million to 7.3 million) and young adults (+14% - 1.4/4 to 1.6/5).

· Opposite heightened competition in the hour year to year, "Charlie's Angels" boosted its time period for ABC by 3.3 million viewers (7.1 million vs. 3.8 million) and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.1/3) over the year-ago night (9/30/10).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in (+140%) against the second hour of "The X Factor," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" once again finished as Thursday's dominant No. 1 drama in Adults 18-49 (3.6/9). Leading its scripted competition in the 9 o'clock hour by wide margins, "Grey's" defeated NBC's comedies by 20% ("The Office"/"Whitney" = 3.0/8) and CBS' "Person of Interest" by 33% (2.7/7).

"Private Practice" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's 5th season opener of "Private Practice" (2.8/7) ranked No. 1 versus its CBS and NBC competition among Adults 18-49 in the 10 o'clock hour, beating out CBS' "The Mentalist" by 8% (2.6/7) and NBC's "Prime Suspect" by 87% (1.5/4). "Private Practice" also led its drama competition in the hour by sizeable margins with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Topping its season finale in May with viewers (+4% - 7.8 million vs. 7.5 million) and young adults (+12% - 2.8/7 vs. 2.5/7), ABC's "Private Practice" drew its biggest audience since March and hit its top Adult 18-49 number since early December - since 3/24/11 and 12/2/10, respectively.

Friday

"Modern Family" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

In the 8 o'clock half hour, ABC's repeat "Modern Family" topped NBC's encore "Up All Night" by 31% in Total Viewers (3.8 million vs. 2.9 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4 vs. 0.8/3).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:30-9:00 p.m., ABC's replay of the "Suburgatory" premiere led NBC's repeat comedy ("Whitney") in the half hour by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+21% - 3.4 million vs. 2.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+22% - 1.1/4 vs. 0.9/3).

"Pan Am" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's rebroadcast "Pan Am" outdrew Fox's original "Fringe" in the 9 o'clock hour by 1.2 million viewers (4.2 million vs. 3.0 million).

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Soaring week to week by 21% in Total Viewers (4.0 million vs. 3.3 million), by 15% in Adults 25-54 (1.5/4 vs. 1.3/4) and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.0/3), ABC's "20/20" equaled its best young adult number in 5 weeks - since 8/26/11.

Saturday

Airing from 8:07-11:39 p.m., ABC's "Saturday Night Football" (Nebraska at Wisconsin) grew over coverage on the year-ago night (Stanford at Oregon/Notre Dame at BC on 10/2/10) by 18% in Total Viewers (5.8 million vs. 4.9 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 vs. 1.6/5), marking its 4th straight telecast of year-over-year gains.

Sunday

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

Building audience for ABC opposite CBS' big NFL overrun in the 7 o'clock hour, the season opener of "America's Funniest Home Videos" grew over its season finale in Total Viewers (6.4 million vs. 6.3 million) and hit its top Women 18-34 number since early May (on 5/1/11).

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

Increasing over its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. against an NFL overrun-inflated CBS and NBC's "Sunday Night Football" (NY Jets-Baltimore Ravens), ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" outdrew Fox's animated comedies ("The Simpsons"/"The Cleveland Show") in the hour by 1.3 million viewers (7.2 million vs. 5.9 million).

· The ABC unscripted series retained 100% of its week-ago season premiere audience with Adults 18-34 and was up with Kids 2-11 (+7%).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Despite CBS' decided lead-in advantage coming into the 9 o'clock hour from the NFL overrun carryover, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" built on its lead-in to beat "The Good Wife" by a wide margin for the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (+36% - 3.0/7 vs. 2.2/5 from 9:23-10:23 p.m.). In addition, the ABC drama qualified as Sunday's No. 1 entertainment program with Women 18-49 for the 2nd week running.

· "Housewives" deliverEd Strong retention of the prior week's season opener with Total Viewers (93%), Adults 18-49 (94%) and Adults 18-34 (96%).

DVR Playback Note: Sunday's biggest gainer during the 2010-11 TV season via time-shifted viewing, "Desperate Housewives" increased by 2.0 million viewers and by 9-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+26%) from the first reported L+SD numbers to finalized L+7 Day numbers.

"Pan Am" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Continuing to exhibit impressive lead-in retention (best in over 5 years) for ABC in the 10:00 p.m. hour against NBC's NFL coverage, ABC's "Pan Am" defeated CBS' time-period veteran "CSI: Miami" by 8% among Adults 18-49 (2.6/6 vs. 2.4/6 from 10:23-11:23 p.m.), ranking as the No. 1 entertainment show in the slot for the 2nd consecutive week. The new ABC drama also finished as the top entertainment program in its slot in Adults 25-54 (tie) and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). On each of its two telecasts, "Pan Am" has delivered the Net's best lead-in retention for any show to follow "Housewives" since "Grey's Anatomy" back in May 2006.

· In its second telecast, "Pan Am" retained an impressive 91% of its strong week-earlier debut numbers with Adults 18-34 and 90% with Women 18-34.

 

 

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