ABC is Only Major Network to Post Gains Over Year-Ago Week

WEEK No. 45:

Building its primetime numbers year to year for the 11th week running, ABC finished No. 2 during the week of July 26, 2010 among Total Viewers (4.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.4/5-tie). ABC has placed 1st or 2nd in the key young Adult sales demo on nearly every week this summer (7 of 9 weeks).

· The only major net to post year-to-year gains over the same week last year, ABC grew by 11% in Total Viewers and 8% in Adults 18-49 (w/o 7/27/09 = 4.4 million and 1.3/4), marking its 11th consecutive week of year-over-year increases on both counts.

· Versus the same point last year, ABC's summer results are up by 22% in Total Viewers (6.0 million vs. 4.9 million) and by 25% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.6/5), generating its most-watched overall summer frame since 2003. The Net is up by substantial margins this summer in Adults 18-49 on 5 of 7 nights during the week: +12% on Monday, +80% on Tuesday, +94% on Thursday, +33% on Friday and +24% on Sunday.

Rankings: ABC aired 4 of the Top 20 most-watched TV programs overall for the week: "The Bachelorette" - No. 4, "Wipeout-TUES" - No. 12, "Rookie Blue" - No. 15 and "Wipeout-THURS" - No. 18. The Net placed 2 of the Top 10 shows in Adults 18-49: "The Bachelorette" - No. 2 and "Wipeout-TUES" - No. 10. For the 5th straight week, ABC's "The Bachelorette" qualified as the No. 1 TV show with key Women (W18-49/W25-54). ABC News delivered the No. 1 newsmagazine for the week with "20/20 SP Edition" on Monday in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. In fact among Adults 18-49, ABC News claimed TV's No. 1 newsmagazine for the 7th week in a row and for the 8th time in the last 9 weeks this summer.

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

ABC was the most-watched network overall for the 6th week in a row and ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 8th straight Monday. In fact ABC is registering its longest Adult 18-49 winning streak on the night in more than 10 years - since November 1999-January 2000. The Network outperformed its nearest broadcast competition (CBS) by 1.4 million viewers (7.9 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 32% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/8 vs. 1.9/6).

"The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All" (8:00-10:02 p.m.)

With ABC's "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All," the Network ranked a strong No. 1 in the time period for the 9th consecutive week, outperforming its closest time period competition (CBS) by 2.3 million viewers (8.9 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 45% (2.9/9 vs. 2.0/6). The veteran ABC unscripted series led all 4 of its half-hours in viewers and young adults.

· "The Bachelorette" stood as Monday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 for the 7th week running, and for the 9th time in 9 weeks stood as the evening's dominant No. 1 television program across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All" saw increases over its year-ago performance (7/20/09) by nearly 1.0 million viewers (8.9 million vs. 8.0 million) and by 4% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/9 vs. 2.8/9).

· On average, "The Bachelorette" is up over its performance at the same point last year by 1.3 million viewers (9.5 million vs. 8.2 million) and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 vs. 2.9/8).

"20/20: The Stories Behind the Rose" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News' "20/20: The Stories Behind the Rose" ranked No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour against its CBS and NBC competition among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5) and Adults 25-54 (2.3/6).

Tuesday

ABC's Tuesday lineup registered the Net's strongest performance on the night in Total Viewers (6.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/6) in 5 weeks - since 6/22/10.

· For the 3rd straight week, ABC's Tuesday lineup improved on the same night last year (7/28/09) in Total Viewers (+1.5 million - 6.2 million vs. 4.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+33% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.5/5). In fact the Net was up over the year-ago night for the 8th time in 9 weeks this summer.

"Wipeout-TUES" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)

An encore telecast of ABC's 2-hour "Wipeout: Blind Date" took second in its time period, topping NBC's original 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. lineup ("Breakthrough with Tony Robbins" series premiere and the first hour of "America's Got Talent") by 1.0 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 6.0 million) and by 53% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 vs. 1.5/6).

· "Wipeout" registered its 2nd-best performance ever for a repeat in Total Viewers & Adults 18-49.

"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News' "Primetime: What Would You Do?" replay finished second in the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5) and Adults 25-54 (1.8/5), posting the Net's 2nd-strongest non-sports performance in the hour of the summer.

Thursday

Although "Wipeout" was in repeat at 8:00 p.m., ABC won Thursday among Adults 18-49 (1.7/6), finishing No. 1 on the night against its broadcast rivals for the 3rd week in a row.

· Continuing to exhibit impressive year-to-year improvement on Thursday, ABC more than doubled its performance from the same night last summer (7/30/09) in Total Viewers (+103% - 5.9 million vs. 2.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+113% - 1.7/6 vs. 0.8/3). In fact the Net registered its 8th consecutive Thursday of year-to-year primetime increases.

"Wipeout-THURS" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's rebroadcast "Wipeout" finished a strong second to CBS' "Big Brother" in the 8 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (6.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/8), while beating the original CBS unscripted series with key Men (M18-49/M25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. "Wipeout" topped its time period for the 6th week running among key Men (M18-49/M25-54).

"Rookie Blue" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

TV's No. 1 new scripted series this summer, ABC's "Rookie Blue" was up week to week despite having a repeat lead-in, and stood as the most-watched TV show in the 9 o'clock hour (6.7 million). The freshman ABC drama also took first place in its time slot with Adults 25-54.

· Building week to week in viewers (+3% - 6.7 million vs. 6.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+20% - 1.8/6 vs. 1.5/5), "Rookie Blue" posted its best performance in 4 weeks (since 7/1/10) and scored the series' 2nd highest-ever young adult number.

· "Rookie Blue" once again generated impressive year-to-year gains for ABC in the hour, doubling the Net's year-ago results among Total Viewers (+109% - 6.7 million vs. 3.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+100% - 1.8/6 vs. 0.9/3).

"Boston Med" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Growing week to week in Total Viewers (+4% - 4.7 million vs. 4.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+9% - 1.2/4 vs. 1.1/4), ABC News' "Boston Med" took second place in the 10 o'clock hour against its CBS and NBC competition.

· "Boston Med" improved Thursday's 10 o'clock hour for ABC by 2.4 million viewers and by 71% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year (2.4 million and 0.7/2 on 7/30/09).

Friday

For the 4th straight week, ABC ranked No. 1 against its broadcast rivals on Friday in Adults 18-49 (1.2/5), beating NBC by 20% (1.0/4), CBS by 33% (0.9/3) and Fox by 50% (0.8/4).

"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

A repeat ABC News' "Primetime: What Would You Do?" won the 9 o'clock hour in the key Adults 25-54 news demo (1.7/6), topping the first hour of NBC's "Dateline" by 31% (1.3/7). In fact, the ABC newsmagazine placed No. 1 at 9:00 p.m. among Adults 25-54 for the 4th week in a row.

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

ABC News' "20/20" led the final hour of prime in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5) and Adults 25-54 (1.8/6) for the 4th week running.

Sunday

ABC turned-in its best Sunday numbers in Total Viewers (4.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.1/3-tie) in 6 weeks - since 6/20/10. In fact, the Net saw its 2nd-strongest non-sports performance on the night this summer in both measures.

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

ABC's repeat telecast of "America's Funniest Home Videos" hit summer-highs in both Total Viewers (6.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.5/5-tie). In addition, the video-clip show topped the 7 o'clock hour in the key young adult demographic for the 5th consecutive week.

Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 7/26/10, unless stated otherwise. Summer = 5/31-8/1/10 vs. 5/25-8/2/09.

 

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