'Wipeout' Produces Big Improvement for ABC in Thursday's 8pm Hour

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

Surging week to week in the 8 o'clock hour, opposite the first hour of Fox's 2-hour "American Idol" and CBS' original comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Rules of Engagement"), ABC's Winter "Wipeout" (7.1 million and 2.2/6) defeated NBC's original comedies ("Community"/"Perfect Couples" = 3.4 million and 1.6/5) by a wider margin of 3.7 million viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49. The broad-skewing ABC unscripted series finished No. 2 against its broadcast competition in the hour with Teens 12-17 (1.8/6) and Kids 2-11 (2.4/8), trailing only "Idol." In fact, ABC's "Wipeout" is the No. 1 TV show this season on the major networks in terms of Family Coviewing, as 31% of its Adult 18-49 audience watches with Teens 12-17 or Kids 2-11.

· "Wipeout's" numbers jumped over the prior week by 1.1 million viewers and by 16% in Adults 18-49 (6.0 million and 1.9/5 on 2/17/11), generating its best performance in 3 weeks.

· Despite going up against "Idol" in the time period this year, "Wipeout" was up hugely for ABC in the hour year to year among viewers (+82%) and young adults (+100%), over the year-ago evening with original programming ("Deep End" = 3.9 million and 1.1/3 on 2/25/10).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Up against the second hour of Fox's 2-hour "Idol," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" beat out its scripted competition in Thursday's 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, standing as the No. 1 scripted series in the slot for its 16th straight original broadcast this season. In its time period, "Grey's" (3.3/9) outdelivered NBC's comedies ("The Office"/"Parks and Recreation") by 18% (2.8/7) and CBS' "CSI" by 22% (2.7/7).

"Private Practice" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Private Practice" (6.7 million and 2.4/7) posted strong advantages over NBC's comedies ("30 Rock"/"Outsourced" = 4.0 million and 1.9/5) in the 10 o'clock hour, leading by 2.7 million viewers and by 26% in Adults 18-49. In addition, for its 15th consecutive first run telecast this season, the ABC drama registered as the No. 1 scripted TV show in its hour with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

· "Private Practice" grew its Adult 18-49 audience week to week (+4% - 2.4/7 vs. 2.3/7).

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 39% currently, from 35% at the same point in 2010. 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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