Early Points for ABC Last Night

Some early points on the season premiere of The Bachelor last night ahead of the regular press release...

ABC's season opener of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love from 8-10pm drew an average audience of 9.5 million viewers and a 3.3/8 in Adults 18-49, against original competition that included Fox's Fiesta Bowl and the return of NBC's Heroes. In fact head to head, The Bachelor premiere topped the 2-hour return of NBC's Heroes by 4.6 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (4.9 million and 2.2/5).

� The Bachelor was up over its season premiere on the year-ago evening in both Total Viewers (+9%) and in Adults 18-49 (+6%), registering its most-watched opener for the franchise since April '07 (4 seasons ago) and its highest young adult number since September '07 (3 seasons ago). In fact it was the 2nd-most-watched opener for the show in its last 9 seasons � since April '04.

� ABC's The Bachelor stood as the TV's #1 series telecast on Monday with Adults 18-34 (3.1/9) and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

Quick Take for Monday, January 4, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

With its Top Number in 6 Weeks, ABC's Finishes No. 2 on Monday to Fox's "Fiesta Bowl" in Adults 18-49 and Wins the Night Across Key Women Demos

From 8-10pm, "The Bachelor" Dominates the Return of NBC's "Heroes" and Stands as TV's No. 1 Series Telecast on Monday in Adults 18-34 and Key Women

Growing Year-to-Year in Viewers and Young Adults, "The Bachelor" Marks its Most-Watched Premiere in 4 Seasons and 2nd-Biggest Opener Since April 2004

At 10pm, ABC's "Conveyor Belt of Love" is the Top Non-Sports Show with Young Adults and Ranks No. 1 Overall with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With the season premiere of "The Bachelor" and the special "Conveyor Belt of Love," ABC earned second place on Monday in Adults 18-49 (3.1/8) to Fox's "Fiesta Bowl" coverage, beating third-place CBS by 15% (2.7/7) and fourth-place NBC by 55% (2.0/5). The Net ranked No. 1 on the night across all key Women: Women 18-34 (4.3/11), Women 18-49 (4.4/11) and Women 25-54 (4.6/10).

� In Total Viewers (8.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/9), ABC drew its strongest Monday numbers in 6 weeks - since 11/23/09.

"The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's season opener of "The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" drew an average audience of 9.5 million viewers and a 3.3 rating, 8 share in Adults 18-49, against original competition that included Fox's "Fiesta Bowl" and the return of NBC's "Heroes." In fact head to head, "The Bachelor" premiere topped the 2-hour return of NBC's "Heroes" by 4.6 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (4.9 million and 2.2/5). "The Bachelor" stood as the TV's No. 1 series telecast on Monday with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

� "The Bachelor" was up over its season premiere on the year-ago evening in both Total Viewers (+9%) and in Adults 18-49 (+6%), registering the most-watched opener for the franchise since April '07 (4 seasons ago) and its highest young adult number since September '07 (3 seasons ago). In fact it was the 2nd-most-watched opener for the show in its last 9 seasons � since April '04.

"Conveyor Belt of Love" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's special "Conveyor Belt of Love" stood as the No. 1 series telecast with Adults 18-49 (2.7/7) and Adults 18-34 (2.5/7), and as the highest-rated program overall in Women 18-49 (3.6/9) and Women 18-34 (3.5/10). The ABC unscripted special defeated NBC's original "Jay Leno" in the time period by 1.7 million viewers (6.5 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 80% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7 vs. 1.5/4).

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 34% currently, from 29% at the same point in 2009. 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 1/4/10.