Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of May 19, 2014
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC Finishes as Week's Most-Watched TV Network with the Monday And Tuesday "Dancing" Finales as the Top 2 TV Programs Overall
The "Modern Family" Finale is the No. 1 TV Program in Adults 18-49
ABC is Monday's Most-Watched Net on Each of the Final 6 Weeks of the Season
ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Monday Finale Stands As the Night's
Most-Watched TV Program, Leading NBC's "The Voice" by 4.0 Million Viewers
"The Bachelorette" Opener is Up by 20% in Viewers and by 5% in Adults 18-49
ABC is the Most-Watched Net on the Season's Final Tuesday at a 1-1/2 Year High
ABC's "DWTS" Recap Special Tuesday at 8pm Tops Part 1 of Fox's "Idol" Finale
By 4.8 Million Viewers, While Matching the Fox Series in Adults 18-49
Finishing as Tuesday's No. 1 TV Program, ABC's "Dancing" Finale Outdraws
NBC's "The Voice" Finale by 3.4 Million Viewers in Head-to-Head Competition
"The Middle" Earns its Most-Watched Finale Ever and a 3-Year High in Adults 18-49
"Modern Family" Closes with its Best Numbers Since Last Fall
And Delivers the Series' Most-Watched-Ever Season Finale
ABC's Season Premiere of "Motive" is Up 13% in Adults 18-49 from its Finale
The Network Ranks No. 1 on Friday for the 8th Straight Week in Adults 18-49
ABC's "What Would You Do?" Season Premiere is Up Year to Year by 31%
In Total Viewers for the Show's Most-Watched Telecast Since September 2012
"20/20" Stands as Friday's No. 1 TV Program in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Week No. 35
ABC (6.5 million) was the most-watched TV network overall during the week (w/o 5/19/14), leading by double-digit margins over NBC (+16% - 5.6 million), CBS (+23% - 5.3 million) and Fox (+27% - 5.1 million). The Net also ranked No. 1 with Adults 18-34 (tie) and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
Rankings: ABC aired 5 of the Top 20 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including the No. 1 show with the "Modern Family" finale: "Modern Family" - No. 1, "DWTS" - No. 7, "DWTS-SP" - No. 11, "The Middle" - No. 14 and "The Bachelorette" - No. 16. In addition, ABC delivered 5 of the Top 10 most-watched shows overall for the week, with the "Dancing" Monday and Tuesday finales taking the Top 2 spots and "Modern Family" as the top scripted show: "DWTS" - No. 1, "DWTS-SP" - No. 2, "DWTS: Road to the Finals" - No. 5, "Modern Family" - No. 7 and "The Middle" - No. 10. In fact, "Modern Family" and "The Middle" each posted their most-watched-ever finales. ABC's "20/20" and the season opener of "What Would You Do?" ranked as the Top 2 newsmagazines in Adults 18-49.
Monday
ABC finished as Monday's most-watched TV network for the 6th week running, outdrawing runner-up NBC by 13% (11.4 million vs. 10.1 million). In addition, the Net ranked a strong 2nd on the night in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), outdelivering Fox with the "Bones" finale and "24: Live Another Day" by 35% (1.7/5) and CBS' lineup by 53% (1.5/4).
· ABC was up from the year-ago May Sweep Monday by 10% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 vs. 2.1/6 on 5/20/13).
"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-9:30 p.m. - 15.7 million and 2.6/8 in AD18-49):
Shifting back to a shortened 90-minute format (8:00-9:30 p.m.), ABC's "DWTS" Finals maintained its status as night's most-watched TV series for the 10th week in a row (on each telecast this season), topping NBC's "The Voice" Monday finale (8:00-10:00 p.m.) by 4.0 million viewers (15.7 million vs. 11.7 million). The No. 2 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49, "Dancing's" Monday finale closed the gap year to year with "The Voice's" Monday finale, shrinking the margin to 6-tenths of a rating point last night (2nd-closest finish ever for any telecast) as compared to a 9-tenths difference on the year-ago night.
· "Dancing" was up for the 2nd straight week to week in viewers (+9%) and young adults (+13%), equaling a season high in Adults 18-49. In addition, the show posted its strongest Monday finale in 5 seasons with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 - since Fall 2011.
"The Bachelorette" (9:30-11:00 p.m. - 7.2 million and 2.0/6 in AD18-49):
Despite starting out against the final half-hour of NBC's "The Voice" at 9:30 p.m., ABC's "The Bachelorette" was up 20% from its year-ago premiere in Total Viewers (7.2 million vs. 6.0 million) and 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.9/5). "The Bachelorette" won its 90-minute time period in Women 18-34 and stood as the No. 2 TV broadcast show of the night to "The Voice" in Adults 18-34 (tied w/ "Dancing") and Women 18-34.
Tuesday
Up against the 2-hour finale of NBC's "The Voice" and part 1 of Fox's "American Idol" finale, ABC finished as the most-watched TV network on the final Tuesday of the season (No. 1 in each half-hour), outdrawing runner-up NBC by 3.6 million viewers (13.9 million vs. 10.3 million). It was ABC's 3rd straight night as the No. 1 network in Total Viewers, and 4th time in 5 nights. The Net ran a very competitive No. 2 on the evening among the broadcasters in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), beating Fox with "Idol" and the series debut of "I Wanna Marry Harry" by 83% (1.2/4) and CBS' original lineup by 144% (0.9/3).
· ABC's 18th season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" was the night's dominant, most-watched TV show (15.1 million). The ABC unscripted series was a strong No. 2 broadcast on the night in Adults 18-49, outdelivering "Idol" by 41% (2.4/7 vs. 1.7/6).
· The Net marked its most-watched Tuesday overall in 1-1/2 years - since 11/27/12.
"DWTS: Road to the Finals" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 11.6 million and 1.7/6 in AD18-49):
In the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's "DWTS: Road to the Finals" recap special was the most-watched TV show in its slot (11.6 million), topping the first part of Fox's "American Idol" finale by 4.8 million viewers (6.8 million) and NBC's "The Voice" recap special by 4.1 million (7.5 million). In addition, the ABC special tied "Idol" in the hour with Adults 18-49 (1.7/6).
"Dancing with the Stars" (9:00-11:00 p.m. - 15.1 million and 2.4/7 in AD18-49):
From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "Dancing" finale faced a 2-hour season finale of "The Voice" for the first time ever, and came out on top by a wide margin. Please Note: In the past, a "Dancing" finale has never faced a finale of "The Voice." Head to head, "Dancing" outdrew "The Voice" by 3.4 million viewers (15.1 million vs. 11.7 million). In addition, "DWTS" ranked No. 2 in the time period against its network competition among all key Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). Olympic Gold Medalist Meryl Davis was crowned champion of Season 18 and awarded the coveted mirror ball trophy.
· Despite going opposite the 2-hour "The Voice" finale, "Dancing" was up over its most recent finale in November with Total Viewers (14.8 million on 11/26/13) and on par with its year-ago May finale (15.2 million on 5/21/13). In addition, the show spiked over its Fall finale with Adults 18-34 (+14%) and Women 18-49 (+21%).
· "DWTS" generated ABC's biggest non-sports audience in the 2-hour time period in 1 year and its top Adult 18-49 number in nearly 5 months - since 5/21/13 and 12/31/13, respectively.
Wednesday
Up against the 2-hour finales of Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' "Survivor," ABC claimed the No. 1 TV program on the final night of the season by wide margins among Adults 18-49 with the season finale of "Modern Family." In fact, the ABC comedy finished as Wednesday's top-rated TV show on each of its last 10 original airings this season. On the night, ABC's "Modern Family" (3.7/12) outdelivered Fox's "American Idol" finale by 42% (2.6/9) and CBS' "Survivor" finale by 42% (2.6/8).
· ABC's 8:00-10:00 p.m. comedy block ranked No. 1 with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, beating the 2-hour finales of "Idol" and "Survivor."
"The Middle" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 7.8 million and 2.1/8 in AD18-49):
Opposite the opening hours of the "Survivor" and "Idol" finales from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" season closer grew in Total Viewers (+10% - 7.8 million vs. 7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 2.1/8 vs. 1.9/7) to deliver its strongest performance in nearly 4 months - since 2/5/14. In addition, the show was up in Adults 18-34 (+15%) turned in its best rating since the beginning of the year - since 1/8/14.
· Despite facing much stronger competition this year (last year's "Idol" finale aired a week earlier and the "Survivor" finale aired on Sunday), "The Middle" was up over its year-ago season finale in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (7.7 million and 2.0/7 on 5/22/13). In fact, the show posted its most-watched season finale ever and a 3-year high with young adults (since 2011).
"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m. - 10.5 million and 3.7/12 in AD18-49):
At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family" built for the 3rd week in a row with Total Viewers (+15% - 10.5 million vs. 9.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+16% - 3.7/12 vs. 3.2/10), as its season closer posted the show's biggest audience since December and its top young adult number since November - since 12/11/13 and 11/13/13, respectively.
· "Modern Family" was up from its year-ago finale (10.0 million and 3.7/11 on 5/22/13) in Total Viewers by 5% to mark its most-watched-ever closer, and held even among Adults 18-49.
"Mixology" (9:31-10:00 p.m. - 4.0 million and 1.3/4 in AD18-49):
In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Mixology" finale held steady week to week in Total Viewers (4.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.3/4).
"Motive" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.3 million and 0.9/3 in AD18-49):
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's season premiere of "Motive" was up 13% in Adults 18-49 from last year's season finale (0.9/3 vs. 0.8/3 on 8/29/13).
Friday
With a repeat "Shark Tank" at 8:00 p.m. leading into the season premiere of "What Would You Do?" at 9:00 p.m. and "20/20" at 10:00 p.m., ABC won Friday night in Adults 18-49, beating NBC's line-up by 18% (1.3/5 vs. 1.1/4). In fact, the Net was No. 1 on the night for the 8th straight week in Adults 18-49 and drew its biggest overall audience (5.3 million) on the first Friday after the end of the season in 7 years - since 5/25/07.
· "20/20" was the No. 1 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5-tie) and Adults 25-54 (1.8/6).
"Shark Tank - R" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 5.0 million and 1.1/5 in AD18-49):
From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's repeat "Shark Tank" ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3-tie).
"What Would You Do?" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 5.1 million and 1.3/5 in AD18-49):
At 9:00 p.m., ABC's premiere of "What Would You Do?" grew over its finale (on 7/19/13) by double-digits in Total Viewers (+31%), Adults 18-49 (+18%) and Adults 25-54 (+14%) to deliver its most-watched telecast and match its best Adult ratings since Fall 2012 - since 9/14/12 and 10/19/12, respectively.
· "WWYD?" grew over its year-ago premiere by 31% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 3.9 million).
"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 6.0 million and 1.4/5 in AD18-49):
At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "20/20" won its hour in Adults 18-49 by 75% over NBC's "Hannibal" finale (1.4/5 vs. 0.8/3), marking its 12th consecutive telecast as the No. 1 regular program in its time period. In addition, the ABC newsmagazine took first place in the hour with Adults 25-54 (1.8/6), nearly doubling "Hannibal" (+80% - 1.0/3). "20/20" continued its run as the No. 1 newsmagazine of the night among Adults, outdelivering NBC's "Dateline Classic" (8:00-10:00 p.m.) in Adults 25-54 and
WEEK NO. 35: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 NBC 1.5 No.1 ABC 6,500,000
No.2 ABC 1.3 No.2 NBC 5,630,000
No.2 FOX 1.3 No.3 CBS 5,320,000
No.4 CBS 1.1 No.4 FOX 5,130,000
No.5 CW 0.4 No.5 CW 1,100,000
Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 05/19/14.
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