Primetime Ratings Report
For the week of January 16, 2012
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC Finishes No. 2 to Fox with Young Adults and Key Women, And Beats Out NBC by a Best-of-Season 40% Among Adults 18-49
ABC Surges Year to Year by 20% in Viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49
ABC Broadcasts the Week's Top 2 Newsmagazines Among Key Adults
ABC's "The Bachelor" Hits Season Highs in Young Adults and All Key Men Demos
ABC's "Castle" Generates its Strongest Adult 18-34 Performance Since October
Tuesday's Most-Watched Comedy, ABC's "Last Man Standing" Marks 6-Week Highs
"Celebrity Wife Swap" Improves its Hour and Achieves Series Highs in Key Men
"Body of Proof" Finishes as the Most-Watched TV Show During Tuesday's 10pm Hour
The Net is Up on Wednesday for the 3rd Straight Year Against the "Idol" Opener
Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted Show, ABC's "Modern Family" Scores the Top Young
Adult Rating in 6 Years for Any TV Telecast Against an "American Idol" Premiere
"Revenge" Gains Young Adults, with its Top Adult 18-34 Number in Nearly 3 Months
ABC's "Grey's" Wins its Hour to Stand as Thursday's No. 1 Drama in Adults 18-49
Hitting Season Highs, ABC Posts a Dominant Victory on Friday with Adults 18-49
ABC's "Shark Tank" Opens its 3rd Season with the Series' Biggest-Ever Audience
"Primetime: What Would You Do?" Opens with its Largest Audience Since Oct. �10
Friday's No. 1 Show in Adults 25-54, "20/20" Marks its 2nd-Best Results this Season
Nearly Tripling its Lead-in, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Holds Strong Against
A Huge NFL Game, Qualifying as Sunday's No. 1 Regular TV Show in Adults 18-49
WEEK No. 18:
During the week of January 16, 2012, ABC finished No. 2 to Fox among Adults 18-49 (tie), Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In addition, ABC defeated NBC by a best-of-season 40% with Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 vs. 1.5/4).
· ABC's numbers rose sharply year over year, up by 20% in Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 5.6 million) and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 vs. 1.7/5) from the same week last year (w/o 1/17/11).
Rankings: ABC aired 6 of the Top 20 scripted series in Adults 18-49, including TV's No. 1 drama with "Grey's Anatomy:" "Modern Family" - No. 2, "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 7, "Once Upon a Time" - No. 11, "Happy Endings" - No. 17, while "Last Man Standing" and "Desperate Housewives" tied at No. 20. In addition, ABC's "Modern Family" finished as the No. 1 scripted program in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). ABC delivered the Top 2 newsmagazines for the week in key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54) with "20/20" and "Primetime: What Would You Do?," respectively. In fact, it was ABC's 2nd week in a row to claim the top-rated newsmagazine on both measures.
Monday
With "The Bachelor" and "Castle" opposite strong competition from CBS' original lineup and Fox's 2-hour series debut of "Alcatraz," ABC's Monday night grew week to week by 9% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.2/5), equaling a 2-month high in the key young adult sales demo - since 11/21/11. In addition, the Net posted its top-rated Monday in 3 months with Adults 18-34 (1.9/5 - tie) -- since 10/17/11.
· ABC improved over the same night last year (7.7 million and 2.3/6 on 1/17/11) in both Total Viewers (+4%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%).
"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Building steadily in its 2-hour time period and jumping 23% from its first half-hour to its final half-hour (2.2/6 to 2.7/6), ABC's "The Bachelor" was up week to week among Adults 18-49 (+9% - 2.4/6 vs. 2.2/5) to match a season best. In addition, the show hit season highs in Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and across all key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).
"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Castle" ran a strong second to CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while ranking No. 1 with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 among scripted programming. In the hour, the ABC drama outdelivered NBC's "Rock Center With Brian Williams" by wide margins in viewers (+68% - 9.4 million vs. 5.6 million) and young adults (+69% - 2.2/6 vs. 1.3/3).
· "Castle" surged over the prior week by 15% in Adults 18-34, scoring its highest number since October - since 10/31/11.
Tuesday
For the 3rd week running with its Tuesday night lineup, ABC earned strong increases over the same night last year (an all-original schedule), building by 1.3 million viewers (7.1 million vs. 5.8 million) and by 18% Adults 18-49 (2.0/5 vs. 1.7/5). ABC stood as the 2nd-most-watched network on Tuesday evening, topping all-original programming on both Fox (6.8 million) and NBC (6.1 million). In addition, ABC self-starter "Last Man Standing" at 8:00 p.m. once again finished as Tuesday's most-watched comedy overall, outdrawing Fox's "Glee"-led "New Girl" at 9:00 p.m. by 1.6 million viewers (8.6 million vs. 7.0 million).
· Rising over the prior week with Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+11%), ABC marked its top Tuesday results since November - since 11/29/11 and 11/22/11, respectively.
"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
Surging week to week at 8:00 p.m., ABC freshman "Last Man Standing" earned second place in its half-hour among Total Viewers (8.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/7), outdrawing the return of Fox's "Glee" to original by 1.2 million viewers (7.4 million) and NBC's "The Biggest Loser" by 24% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6). Additionally, the broad-appealing ABC comedy ranked No. 1 in its time slot with Adults 25-54 and key Men (M18-49/M25-54).
· "Last Man" delivered big year-over-year improvement for ABC in the half-hour, boosting its slot by 51% in viewers and by 44% in young adults over the year-ago night (5.7 million and 1.8/5 on 1/18/11).
· Hitting 6-week highs, the ABC comedy grew sharply week to week in viewers (+13%) and young adults (+24%) - since 12/6/11.
"Celebrity Wife Swap" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Building on its repeat "Last Man Standing" lead-in at 9:00 p.m. with young adults, ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap" improved its hour year to year in both Total Viewers (5.9 million vs. 5.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 vs. 2.0/5).
· Growing its overall audience by 12% week to week, "Celebrity Wife Swap" matched its top Adult 18-49 number on the night and equaled series highs with key Men (M18-34/M18-49).
"Body of Proof" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Gaining on its lead-in (+36%), ABC's "Body of Proof" finished as the most-watched TV show during the 10 o'clock hour, besting NBC's first-run "Parenthood" by 2.9 million viewers (7.9 million vs. 5.0 million). The ABC sophomore drama also delivered the No. 1 position in its slot with Adults 25-54.
· The ABC drama continued to deliver impressive year-to-year increases in Tuesday's 10:00 p.m. hour, jumping by 30% in Total Viewers (7.9 million vs. 6.1 million), by 23% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.3/4) and by 28% in Adults 25-54 (2.3/6 vs. 1.8/5) ahead of the year-ago night.
· Building week to week by 14% viewers, "Body of Proof" tallied its best numbers since November with Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 - since 11/29/11.
Wednesday
Up against the 2-hour season premiere of Fox's "American Idol," ABC (3.0/8) posted a strong second-place finish on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49, beating out third-place CBS by 20% (2.5/6) and fourth-place NBC by 100% (1.5/4).
· The Net grew by double digits over the year-ago Wednesday against the "Idol" premiere (1/19/11) in both Total Viewers (+13% - 8.1 million vs. 7.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 3.0/8 vs. 2.7/7), registering its 3rd consecutive year of gains opposite the "Idol" opener on the evening.
"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" defeated its non-"Idol" competition by wide margins in Adults 18-49 and dominated its comedy competition. "The Middle" outperformed NBC's "Whitney" in the half-hour by 3.9 million viewers (8.1 million vs. 4.2 million) and by 56% with young adults (2.5/7 vs. 1.6/4).
· "The Middle" posted its 3rd-highest-ever numbers against an "American Idol" telecast in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, and 2nd-highest with Adults 18-34 and Adults 25-54.
"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Holding 100% of its lead-in, ABC's "Suburgatory" finished as the dominant No. 1 scripted show at 8:30 p.m. among Adults 18-49 and toppled its freshman comedy competition on NBC. On their 2nd head-to-head matchup in the slot, ABC's "Suburgatory" widened its winning advantage over NBC's "Are You There, Chelsea?" to 69% in Total Viewers (7.1 million vs. 4.2 million) and 47% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 vs. 1.7/4).
· "Suburgatory" lifted its time period for ABC over the year-ago Wednesday against the "Idol" premiere by 11% in Total Viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (6.4 million and 2.1/6 for "Better with You.")
"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
Standing as the definitive No. 1 scripted TV program on Wednesday among Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" (5.1/12) more than doubled its lead-in against the third half-hour of "Idol" at 9:00 p.m., towering over its closest scripted competition in its time slot (+65% over CBS' original "Criminal Minds" = 3.1/8). In fact the ABC comedy topped its combined CBS and NBC scripted competitors by 21% in the half-hour (5.1/12 vs. 4.2/11).
· ABC's "Modern Family" scored its best-ever results against an "Idol" telecast, building on its year-ago numbers in both Total Viewers (+9% - 11.9 million vs. 10.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 5.1/12 vs. 4.6/12). In fact, "Modern Family's" 5.1 Adult 18-49 rating is the biggest number in 6 years for any TV telecast against the Wednesday premiere of "American Idol" - since 1/18/06.
"Happy Endings" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)
During the 9:30 p.m. half-hour against the tail-end of "Idol," ABC's "Happy Endings" (2.9/7) earned second against its scripted competition in Adults 18-49, beating NBC's "Harry's Law" by 190% (1.0/2). In addition, "Happy Endings" registered as the No. 1 scripted show in the half-hour with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34.
· "Happy Endings" delivered strong year-to-year gains for ABC, boosting the slot by 7% in Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/7 vs. 2.4/6) from the same night last year.
· Despite facing "Idol," "Happy Endings" retained 100% of its week-ago numbers with Adults 18-34 and Men 18-49, while increasing 10% with hard-to-reach Men 18-34. In fact, the comedy posted its best number since mid-November with Men 18-34 - since 11/16/11.
"Revenge" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC freshman drama "Revenge" ran a strong second in its hour among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7), while finishing No. 1 with Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49 (tie).
· Up over the prior week in Adults 18-49 (+4%), ABC's "Revenge" matched a 9-week high - since 11/16/11. Posting its 2nd straight week of growth with Adults 18-34, the show marked its best performance in nearly 3 months - since 11/2/11.
· "Revenge" delivered substantial year-over-year improvement for ABC in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour with Total Viewers (+33% - 7.7 million vs. 5.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+19% - 2.5/7 vs. 2.1/6), topping first-run programming on the year-ago evening ("Off the Map").
Thursday
"Winter Wipeout" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
During the 8 o'clock hour opposite CBS' top-rated "The Big Bang Theory" and "Rob," along with the Thursday premiere of Fox's "American Idol," ABC's "Winter Wipeout" outdrew NBC's comedies ("30 Rock"/"Parks and Recreation") by 1.7 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 4.2 million). The broad-skewing ABC unscripted series also outdelivered the NBC comedy block with Adults 25-54, Women 18-49, Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.
· Although facing strong competition, "Wipeout's" audience built by 5% in viewers (5.7 million to 6.0 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 to 2.0/5) from its first to its second half-hour.
"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
Jumping over its lead-in by 94% to win the 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (3.5/8) defeated CBS' "Person of Interest" by 9% (3.2/8), NBC's comedies ("The Office"/"Up All Night") by 40% (2.5/6) and Fox's "Idol"-driven "The Finder" by 59% (2.2/5).
· ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" finished as Thursday's No. 1 drama in the key young adult sales demo for its 11th consecutive first-run airing this season.
"Private Practice" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Private Practice" (6.0 million and 2.1/5) beat out NBC's "The Firm" (3.4 million and 0.9/2) by 2.6 million viewers and once again more than doubled the NBC drama's Adult 18-49 number (+133%).
· ABC's "Private Practice" ranked as the No. 1 drama in Thursday's 10:00 p.m. hour for the 11th consecutive original telecast this season with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.
Friday
With the season premieres of "Shark Tank" and "Primetime: What Would You Do?," followed by "20/20," ABC ranked a definitive No. 1 on Friday in Adults 18-49, leading the night for the 2nd week in a row and achieving a season-high. Holding double-digit advantages over its rivals, ABC (1.7/5) beat out NBC on the evening by 21% (1.4/4), Fox by 31% (1.3/4) and CBS by 55% (1.1/3).
· Building its numbers on the night for the 3rd straight week, the Net scored Friday season-highs with both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (6.4 million and 1.7/5).
"Shark Tank" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In the 8 o'clock hour, the season opener of ABC's "Shark Tank" topped its network rivals in Adults 18-49, leading runner-up Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" by 6% (1.7/5 vs. 1.6/5).
· Building sharply on its season premiere in the hour last year with viewers (+37%) and young adults (+42%) to deliver the series' most-watched telecast ever (6.3 million), "Shark Tank" drew ABC's largest audience in the time period with non-sports programming in nearly 3-1/2 years and its highest Adult 18-49 number since October 2010 - since 9/26/08 and 10/29/10, respectively.
"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
During the 9:00 p.m. hour, the season premiere of ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do?" ran a close second in its slot among the broadcast nets with Adults 18-49 (1.6/5), nearly tying NBC's "Grimm" (1.8/5 - tied in audience share) and dominating Fox's "Fringe" (+45% - 1.1/3). The ABC newsmagazine delivered the No. 1 position in the hour with key Women (W18-49/W25-54).
· "Primetime: What Would You Do?" drew the series' biggest audience since November 2010 (5.9 million) and its highest Adult 18-49 number since February 2011 - since 11/12/10 and 2/18/11, respectively.
"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "20/20" dominated its time period to stand as Friday's No. 1 TV show in the key Adult 25-54 news demo. In addition, "20/20" once again registered as the night's No. 1 newsmagazine, beating out NBC's "Dateline" by considerable margins in head-to-head competition among Total Viewers (+31% - 7.2 million vs. 5.5 million), Adults 25-54 (+39% - 2.5/6 vs. 1.8/5) and Adults 18-49 (+29% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.4/4). ABC's "20/20" featured reporting by Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas and Deborah Roberts on the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy off the coast of Tuscany, Italy.
· Marking its 2nd-strongest performance on the night this season, "20/20" turned in its biggest numbers in 13 weeks with Total Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54) - since 10/21/11.
Sunday
"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Opposite Fox's high-rated NFL NFC Championship game (NY Giants-San Francisco 49ers) that went into overtime, ABC freshman drama "Once Upon a Time" (9.3 million and 3.2/7) surged over its lead-in (+82% in viewers/+191% in young adults) and gained viewers throughout its broadcast to beat out CBS' "Undercover Boss" (9.2 million and 2.3/5) in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact, the ABC freshman drama substantially increased it winning advantage over the CBS unscripted series to 39% in Adults 18-49, jumping from 10% the prior week. Disney-owned "Once Upon a Time" qualified as Sunday's No. 1 regular TV program with viewers and young adults.
· Despite facing the big NFL Championship competition, "Once Upon a Time" increased its numbers week to week in Adults 18-34 (+4%) and Women 18-34 (+6%), scoring its 2nd-best results in the last 2 months on both measures - since 11/13/11. In addition, the show surged 12% over the prior week with Men 18-34 to earn its 2nd-strongest performance since November - since 11/27/11.
· "Once Upon a Time" produced sizeable year-over-year growth for ABC in the hour, improving by 33% in Total Viewers and by 68% in Adults 18-49 over original programming on the same night last year ("Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on 1/23/11 = 7.0 million and 1.9/4).
"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Registering as the No. 1 non-sports program in the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (7.5 million and 2.6/5) towered over its original drama competition in the time slot, beating NBC's "Prime Suspect" (4.3 million and 0.8/2) by 3.2 million viewers and more than tripling its Adult 18-49 number (+225%). In addition, "Housewives" stood as Sunday's No. 2 regular TV show with Adults 18-49.
· "Desperate Housewives" grew week to week in Adults 18-34 (+5%), Women 18-34 (+15%) and Women 18-49 (+6%).
"Pan Am" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Pan Am" dominated the season finale of NBC's "Prime Suspect" by 71% among Adults 18-49 (1.2/3 vs. 0.7/2). In addition, the ABC freshman drama was the No. 1 regular program in the hour with Women 25-54.
Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 01/16/12.
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