ABC's 'Shaq Vs.' Opens 2nd Season with Record Highs

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

ABC's "Wipeout" stood as the most-watched TV show in Tuesday's 8 o'clock hour (8.8 million). The ABC unscripted series also ranked as Tuesday's No. 2 TV show in Adults 18-49 (2.9/9), outperforming NBC's "America's Got Talent" (2.8/8) and finishing just behind Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" (3.2/11).

· Wipeout attracted its largest audience in 6 weeks (since 6/22/10), registering the series' 2nd-biggest audience in more than 2 years - since 7/29/08.

"Shaq VS" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

In the 9 o'clock hour, against stiff unscripted competition on NBC ("America's Got Talent") and Fox (a "Hell's Kitchen"-driven "Masterchef"), ABC's Season 2 premiere of "Shaq VS" was up by 1.2 million viewers (5.4 million vs. 4.2 million) and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.7/5) over its year-ago series debut (on 8/18/09), hitting series highs on both Nielsen measures.

· "Shaq VS" greatly improved the time period for ABC year to year, growing the hour by 3.3 million viewers and by 138% in Adults 18-49 (2.1 million and 0.8/2 on 8/4/09).

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

In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC News' repeat airing of "Primetime What Would You Do?" was up week to week by 6% in Adults 25-54 (1.9/5 vs. 1.8/5) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.5/4), generating ABC's 2nd-highest non-sports numbers in the hour this summer on both counts.

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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 8/3/10.

 

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