ABC's 'Bachelorette' Has Most-Viewed Finale Since 2004

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

ABC was the most-watched network overall for the 7th consecutive week and ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 9th Monday in a row. The Network towered over its nearest broadcast competition (CBS) by 5.1 million viewers (11.5 million vs. 6.4 million) and by 106% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/11 vs. 1.8/5).

· ABC drew its largest Monday summer audience (Memorial Day - Labor Day) and highest non-sports Adults 18-49 performance in over 10 years - since 6/26/00.

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

With the 6th-season finale of "The Bachelorette," ABC finished No. 1 in the time period for the 10th consecutive week (on every telecast this season), outperforming its closest competitor (CBS) by 5.0 million viewers (11.6 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 85% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/11 vs. 2.0/6). The veteran ABC unscripted series built steadily throughout its telecast, drawing an average of 13.1 million viewers and a 4.3/12 among Adults 18-49 during its final half-hour from 9:30-10:00 p.m., with Bachelorette Ali giving the final rose to Roberto.

· "The Bachelorette" saw increases over its year-ago season finale (7/27/09) of 1.6 million viewers (11.6 million vs. 10.0 million) and 6% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/11 vs. 3.5/10), pulling its strongest finale numbers overall since 2004 when it concluded in February (on 2/25/04).

· On average, "The Bachelorette" stood as Monday's No. 1 TV show of Summer 2010 in Adults 18-49 and the top summer series overall across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Like previous editions of the franchise, the 6th season of "The Bachelorette" is a big hit with Upscale viewers, ranking as TV's No. 1 series this summer among Adults 18-49 in Homes with $100k+ annual income (3.9 rating).

· On average in its sixth season, "The Bachelorette" was up over the previous year by 1.5 million viewers (9.7 million vs. 8.2 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/9 vs. 2.9/8). In fact, "The Bachelorette" generated its most-watched season since 2004.

"The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" won the 10 o'clock hour, outdelivering its CBS and NBC competition combined by 6% in Total Viewers (11.4 million vs. 10.8 million) and by 41% among Adults 18-49 (3.8/11 vs. 2.7/8).

· "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" was up over its performance last year (7/28/09) by 3.4 million viewers (11.4 million vs. 8.0 million) and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (3.8/10 vs. 2.8/8).

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), 8/2/10.

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