ABC's THE BACHELOR Grows vs. NBC's 'Voice' Premiere

With "The Bachelor" and "Castle," ABC took second place on Monday to NBC (season premiere of "The Voice" and "Blacklist") in Total Viewers (8.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/6). Among Adults 18-49, ABC beat original line-ups on CBS by 5% (2.1/6) and on FOX by 38% (1.6/4).

Building for the 2nd week, the Net gained 8% in viewers and 5% in young adults from the prior Monday (7.7 million and 2.1/6 on 2/17/14).

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:00 p.m. - 8.1 million and 2.4/7 in AD18-49):
Despite facing NBC's season opener of "The Voice" from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's "The Bachelor" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+5%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%) to earn 3-week highs - since 2/3/14. In addition, the show hit best-since premiere ratings in key Women (W18-34/W18-49) - since 1/6/14. The ABC unscripted series continued to dominate Fox's original dramas ("Almost Human"/"The Following") in the 2-hour time period, leading by a best-ever 59% in Total Viewers (8.1 million vs. 5.1 million) and 50% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.6/4).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 8.1 million and 1.7/5 in AD18-49):
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Castle" increased 12% week to week in Total Viewers, while holding steady in Adults 18-49. In its time period, "Castle" bested CBS' "Intelligence" by 64% in Total Viewers (8.7 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 42% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.2/3). Season to date, "Castle" is up by double digits in Total Viewers (+13% - 13.0 million vs. 11.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+12% - 2.8/8 vs. 2.5/7) over the same point a year ago, tracking as the series' best season ever.

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.

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