ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME Grows in Its Finale

ABC won its 3rd-straight Sunday of the May Sweep by strong margins in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), outdelivering CBS by 38% (1.3/4), FOX by 38% (1.3/4) and NBC by 100% (0.9/3). In fact, the Net was the top-rated broadcaster in all 8 half-hours of the night. ABC's season finale of "Once Upon a Time" finished as Sunday's No. 1 broadcast program with young adults.

Posting its 3rd week of year-to-year growth, ABC was the only broadcaster up from the year-ago May Sweep Sunday in Adults 18-49 (+6% - 1.8/6 vs. 1.7/5).

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m. - 5.8 million and 1.5/6 in AD18-49):
During the 7 o'clock hour, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" won its time period for the 3rd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (1.5/6) and was up 7% from its year-ago telecast (1.4/5 on 5/12/13).

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-10:00 p.m. - 6.5 million and 2.2/7 in AD18-49):
ABC's 2-hour season finale of "Once Upon a Time" beat out its nearest broadcast competition in each hour by double digits in Adults 18-49, leading by 16% from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (2.2/7 vs. 1.9/6 for Fox's "The Simpsons"/"Family Guy") and increasing its advantage to 83% from 9:00-10:00 p.m. (2.2/6 vs. 1.2/4 for CBS' "The Good Wife"). In Adults 18-49, the ABC drama qualified as the No. 1 series in its regular 8:00-9:00 p.m. slot on each of its final 10 telecasts this season.

"Once Upon a Time" was up 5% week to week in Adults 18-49 to equal a 5-week high - since 4/6/14.

"Revenge" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.9 million and 1.5/4 in AD18-49):
During the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's season finale of "Revenge" was the No. 1 series in its slot for the 3rd week running with Adults 18-49, outpacing CBS' "The Mentalist" by 25% (1.5/4 vs. 1.2/4).

Building week to week by 15% in Adults 18-49, "Revenge" posted its highest number since March - since 3/23/14. In addition the show spiked 50% with Adults 18-34 to score an 8-week high - since 3/16/14.

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 49% currently, from 47% at the same point in 2013. 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: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 05/11/14.

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