Primetime Ratings Report For the week of May 14, 2012 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Airs 5 of the Top 20 Shows in Adults 18-49, with the Top 2 Scripted Series

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Stands as Monday's Most-Watched TV Program, Outperforming CBS' Season Finales and NBC's Opener of "America's Got Talent"

The Season Premiere of "The Bachelorette" Builds on its "Dancing" Lead-in with Adults 18-34 to Win its Slot and Post a 9-Week High for ABC in the Time Period

Jumping Over its Lead-in by 312% in Viewers and by 120% in Young Adults, ABC's "DWTS Results Show" Outdraws NBC's Premiere of "America's Got Talent"

ABC's Season Finale of "Private Practice" Spikes by Double Digits Week to Week

During the 2011-12 Season, ABC Scores its Strongest Wednesday in 5 Years

"Suburgatory" Finishes its First Season as ABC's Top Comedy in the Slot in 8 Years

ABC's "Modern Family" Stands as Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted Show in Adults 18-49 And Outperforms "American Idol" as the Night's No. 1 Series Overall in Adults 18-34

On Average Against the End of "Idol," ABC's "Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23" Improves its Time Slot Year to Year by 8% in Viewers and by 4% in Young Adults

ABC's "Revenge" Continues with Big Year-Over-Year Gains on Wednesday at 10pm, Qualifying as the Network's Most-Watched Series in the Hour in the Last 5 Seasons

ABC Spikes 18% to a 14-Week High in Adults 18-49 on the Season's Final Thursday

Scoring its Best Results in 19 Weeks and Topping its Year-Ago Finale, ABC's "Grey's" is the No. 1 Series in its Slot in Adults 18-49 for the 6th Week Running

Surging in its Finale, ABC's "Scandal" Closes Out its First Season at Series Highs, Drawing the Network's Biggest Audience to the Time Slot Since Early January

"Shark Tank" Closes Out with Another Time-Slot Victory and its Best Season Ever

The Net Delivers its Longest Sunday Winning Streak in 3 Years with Adult 18-49

"AFHV" Finishes No. 1 in its Slot with Adults 18-49 for the 4th Consecutive Week

The Network's Broadcast of "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" Dominates Its 3-Hour Time Period to Qualify as Sunday's No. 1 Program with Adults 18-49

WEEK No. 35:

During the week of May 14, 2012, ABC (7.1 million) qualified as the 2nd-most-watched TV network to CBS for the 5th straight week. Among Adults 18-49, the Net finished in a close 3-way race for first place, with just 2-tenths of a rating point separating ABC (2.0/6), CBS (2.1/6) and Fox (2.2/7). In addition, ABC defeated NBC in Adults 18-49 for the 10th straight week (+18% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.7/5). The Net finished No. 1 for the 4th week in a row with key Women (W18-49/W25-54).

Rankings: ABC claimed 5 of the Top 20 TV shows in Adults 18-49 for the week, airing the Top 2 scripted series with "Grey's Anatomy" and "Modern Family," respectively: "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 3, "Modern Family" - No. 4, "Billboard Music Awards" - No. 17, while "DWTS" and "The Bachelorette" tied at No. 19. ABC's "Scandal" and "Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23" qualified as the Top 2 new midseason series, respectively. The Net delivered 2 of the Top 8 most-watched programs overall, with "Dancing with the Stars" (No. 4) and "DWTS Results Show" (No. 8). In addition, ABC's season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" stood as the week's No. 1 TV program with Women 18-34.

Monday

With "Dancing" and the season opener of "The Bachelorette" against competition including season finales on CBS ("How I Met Your Mother"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0") and a 2-hour season premiere on NBC ("America's Got Talent"), ABC finished as Monday's most-watched TV network for the 9th week running (11.9 million), outdrawing CBS by 1.4 million viewers (10.6 million), NBC by 3.0 million viewers (9.0 million) and Fox by 5.2 million viewers (6.8 million). The Net also ranked No. 1 on Monday across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and continued to dominate Fox's drama lineup in Adults 18-49 (+24% advantage over "Bones" and "House" - 2.6/7 vs. 2.0/6).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-9:31 p.m.)

Building throughout its shortened broadcast (8:00-9:31 p.m.), ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" once again registered as Monday's most-watched TV program (15.8 million) and jumped to the top of its slot for the 9th straight week, beating NBC's season premiere of "America's Got Talent" by 5.3 million viewers (10.5 million). In addition, the wide-appealing ABC dance competition paced well ahead of Fox's dramas in the slot among Adults 18-49 (+30% - 2.6/7 vs. 2.0/6) and made ABC the No. 2 broadcaster with Kids 2-11.

· "DWTS" posted best-since premiere numbers with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 - since 3/19/12.

"The Bachelorette" (9:31-11:00 p.m.)

During the final half of the evening (9:31-11:00 p.m.), ABC's 8th season premiere of "The Bachelorette" finished No. 2 to CBS among Total Viewers (8.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/7), while ranking No. 1 in its time period with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "The Bachelorette" defeated the finale of "Hawaii Five-0" by 50% in Adults 18-34, while dominating NBC's finale of "Smash" across the board: Total Viewers (+28%), Adults 18-34 (+47%), Adults 18-49 (+39%) and Adults 25-54 (+32%).

· "The Bachelorette" built on its "Dancing" lead in with Adults 18-34 and among key Women (W18-34/W18-49). In fact, on all 3 Nielsen measures, "The Bachelorette" posted 9-week highs for ABC in the time period - since 3/12/12.

· Despite premiering against stiffer competition opposite the final half-hour of "America's Got Talent" and not having the advantage of opening out of the season finale of "Dancing" this year, ABC's "The Bachelorette" scored strong retention of its year-ago premiere among key younger demos: AD18-34 (96%), W18-34 (97%), W18-49 (91%), M18-34 (90%) and M18-49 (92%).

Tuesday

"DWTS Results Show" (9:00-10:01 p.m.) Leaping over its lead-in ("Cougar Town") at 9:00 p.m. in viewers (+312%) and young adults (+120%) opposite CBS' season finale of "NCIS: LA," ABC's "DWTS Results Show" (13.2 million) outdrew the second hour of NBC's 2-hour premiere of "America's Got Talent" by 2.6 million viewers (10.6 million) and the second hour of Fox's 2-hour "Glee" by 7.2 million viewers (6.0 million). Actress, author and the host of TV's "Extra" Maria Menounos was the next celebrity eliminated from the competition this season.

"Private Practice" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Spiking in its season finale against increased competition from the second hour of CBS' 2-hour "NCIS: LA" finale, ABC's "Private Practice" beat out NBC's season finale of "Fashion Star" by 2.0 million viewers (6.8 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.6/4) during the 10 o'clock hour. In addition, the ABC drama ranked No. 2 in its slot with Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54).

· In its season closer, "Private Practice" shot up over the prior week by 17% in Total Viewers, by 29% in Adults 18-49 and by 25% in Adults 25-54.

Wednesday

Once again scoring year-over-year growth on the night, ABC grew over the same Wednesday last year (5/18/11) in Viewers (+12% - 6.7 million vs. 6.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.3/7 vs. 2.2/6). In fact season to date, ABC's Wednesday delivery is up by 15% in viewers (9.0 million vs. 7.8 million) and by 22% in young adults (3.3/9 vs. 2.7/7) over last season, scoring its strongest performance on the evening in 5 years - since the 2006-07 television season.

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Leading off the night at 8:00 p.m. against the start of Fox's 2-hour "Idol," ABC's "The Middle" earned a solid second place, pacing well ahead of NBC's "Off their Rockers" in Viewers (+25% - 6.5 million vs. 5.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+36% - 1.9/6 vs. 1.4/5).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Showing strong lead-in retention at 8:30 p.m. (95%), ABC's season finale of "Suburgatory" stood as the top-rated scripted series in its half-hour, while outdelivering a second episode of NBC's "Off their Rockers" by 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 vs. 1.6/5).

· On average during its freshman season, "Suburgatory" improved its half-hour for ABC by 16% in Total Viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.3 million) and by 25% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.0/6). In viewers and young adults, "Suburgatory" qualifies as the Net's top comedy in the slot in 8 years - since the 2003-04 season. Since 2003-04, there have been 8 regularly scheduled comedies to air in the time period for ABC.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m.)

The highest-rated scripted TV series for the 2nd consecutive season with Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" (3.9/11) more than doubled its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+117%) to qualify as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted program, outperforming runner-up CBS' 2-hour season finale of "Criminal Minds" by 8% (3.6/10). Beating "Idol" on the night in Adults 18-34 (3.3/11 vs. 3.2/11), "Modern Family" ranked as Wednesday's No. 1 series overall for its 4th straight original airing.

"Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)

During the 9:30 p.m. half-hour against the conclusion of "Idol," "Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23" has improved its time period for ABC by 8% in viewers (6.6 million vs. 6.1 million) and by 4% in young adults (2.7/7 vs. 2.6/7) on average.

"Revenge" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC freshman "Revenge" ran No. 2 to the second hour of CBS' 2-hour "Criminal Minds" finale, while continuing to beat out NBC's veteran "Law & Order: SVU" in the hour by wide margins with Total Viewers (+23% - 6.9 million vs. 5.6 million), Adults 18-49 (+18% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.7/5) and Adults 25-54 (+24% - 2.6/6 vs. 2.1/5).

· The Disney-owned drama produced sizeable year-to-year gains in the hour, bettering original programming on the same night last year in Viewers (+103%), Adults 25-54 (+53%) and Adults 18-49 (+43%). On average, "Revenge" is ABC's most-watched series in the hour in 5 seasons - since Lost during the 2006-07 season.

Thursday

ABC earned second place to an "Idol"-fueled Fox on the final Thursday of the season in Adults 18-49 (2.6/8), surging 18% week to week and hitting a 14-week high on the evening - since 2/9/12. In addition, the Net ranked No. 1 with Women 18-34 on all 4 Thursdays of the 2012 May Sweep.

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

Building in its finale during the 8 o'clock hour, against the season's final episode of Fox's "American Idol-Thurs," ABC's "Missing" (6.5 million and 1.3/4) more than doubled the audience of NBC's comedies (+124% over "Community"/"30 Rock finale" = 2.9 million and 1.3/4) and tied among Adults 18-49. The new ABC drama also beat out the established NBC comedies with Adults 25-54 (+21%) and Women 18-49 (+21%).

· ABC's "Missing" rose week to week in viewers (+2%) and young adults (+18%), earning its best numbers in 3 weeks.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

More than tripling its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (+208%), ABC's 8th season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" qualified as the highest-rated series in its hour for the 6th straight week and once again finished as Thursday's No. 1 drama. Taking full control of the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (4.1/11) outdelivered CBS' "Person of Interest" by 64% (2.5/7), Fox's "Idol"-inflated "Touch" by a best-ever 141% (1.7/5) and NBC's comedies by 215% ("Community"/"Community" season finale = 1.3/4). Additionally, "Grey's" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV series with Adults 18-34, Women 18-49 (3rd straight week) and Women 18-34 (7th straight week).

· Gaining for the 2nd consecutive week in viewers (+16%) and young adults (+17%), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" generated its best numbers in over 4 months (19-week highs - best since 1/5/12) to produce the series' 2nd strongest performance this season.

· "Grey's" was up over its year-ago season finale in Total Viewers (+15%), Adults 18-49 (+14%), Adults 25-54 (+14%) and across all key Women demos: W18-34 (+11%), W18-49 (+15%) and W25-54 (+16%). In fact, it was the ABC drama's 2nd straight telecast to post year-to-year gains.

"Scandal" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's freshman season finale of "Scandal" ran in a near-tie with CBS' finale of "The Mentalist" for first place in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 vs. 2.5/7 - tied in audience share), while beating "The Mentalist" in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Also in its time period, ABC's "Scandal" continued to dominate its freshman drama competition, more than tripling the results for NBC's "Awake" in Viewers (+248%), Adults 25-54 (+263%) and Adults 18-49 (+229%). Additionally, "Scandal" dominated "The Mentalist" finale with Adults 18-34 (+21%) and finished No. 1 in its slot for the 7th consecutive week with Women 18-49.

· Spiking in its finale over the prior week with Total Viewers (+14%), Adults 18-49 (+21%) and Adults 25-54 (+16%), ABC's "Scandal" achieved new series highs.

· The new drama attracted ABC's largest audience in the time period since the beginning of January and its top Adult numbers (AD18-49/AD25-54) in 3 months - since 1/5/12 and 2/16/12, respectively

Friday

ABC ranked No. 1 against its network rivals on the final Friday of the season in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5), its 3rd straight week to hold the lead and beating NBC's all-original lineup (including season finales of "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Grimm") by 8% (1.2/4).

"Shark Tank" (8:00-9:01 p.m.)

The season finale of ABC's "Shark Tank" was the top-rated TV show of the evening on the major nets in Adults 18-49 (1.6/6), tying NBC's "Grimm" finale. The ABC unscripted series posted a strong first-place finish in the 8 o'clock hour among young adults, beating the finale of NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" by 60% (1.0/4).

· On average, "Shark Tank" surged over the prior season by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+15%) and Adults 18-49 (+20%), marking its strongest-ever season on both Nielsen measures.

"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (9:01-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite the season ender of NBC's "Grimm" in the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do?" took second place against its rivals across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).

· The ABC newsmagazine grew its overall audience from the same night last year by 5% (4.2 million vs. 4.0 million).

"20/20" (10:00-11:01 p.m.)

From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "20/20" defeated NBC's "Dateline" by 9% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.1/4), winning the newsmagazine race in the hour on all 4 Fridays of the 2012 May Sweep. Anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and featuring reports from Vargas, Deborah Roberts, John Berman and Jay Schadler, "20/20" took viewers into the lives of people with some of medicine's most rare conditions

Sunday

Registering its longest winning streak on the evening in 3 years (since the end of the 2008-09 season), ABC finished No. 1 for the 5th consecutive Sunday in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), overshadowing Fox's night of season finales by 26% (1.9/6), NBC with the 2-hour season ender of "Celebrity Apprentice" by 50% (1.6/5) and CBS with its two hours of "60 Minutes" and a "Jesse Stone" movie by 85% (1.3/4). Featuring the season finale of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards," the Net ranked No. 1 in all 8 half-hours of the evening in the key young adult sales demo. "The Billboard Music Awards" stood as the night's highest-rated broadcast overall with young adults.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

Featuring the conclusion of its two-part season finale, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" ranked No. 1 in the 7 o'clock hour for the 4th week in a row in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5).

"The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" (8:00-11:02 p.m.)

ABC's 3-hour broadcast of "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" ran a dominant No. 1 in its 8:00-11:00 p.m. time period in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7), leading Fox by 23% (2.2/6), NBC by 42% (1.9/5) and CBS by 108% (1.3/4). The wide-appealing music awards show also finished No. 1 broadcaster in the time period with Adults 25-54, across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

· Head to head from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "Billboard Music Awards" towered over NBC's season finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" by 27% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.2/6) and by 64% in Adults 18-34 (2.3/7 vs. 1.4/4).

· "The Billboard Music Awards" (7.4 million) attracted its 2nd-largest audience since 2003 (since 12/10/03) and retained 96% of its Teen 12-17 (2.3/9 vs. 2.4/9) delivery year to year. In fact with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11, "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" produced ABC's best numbers in the time period since the "2012 Academy Awards" 3 months ago - since 2/26/12.

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 05/14/12.