Primetime Ratings Report
For the week of January 11, 2010
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC Posts its 2nd-Highest-Rated Week Among Adults 18-49 Since November
ABC Airs 5 of the Top 20 TV Non-Sports Programs for the Week in Adults 18-49
ABC Marks its Strongest Monday in 7 Weeks with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
"The Bachelor" is Up by 1.0 Million Viewers and by 9% in Adults 18-49 Over its Week-Ago Premiere, Pulling the Series' Most-Watched 2nd Episode in 11 Seasons
ABC's "Castle" Builds Sharply on its Most-Recent Original in Viewers and
Adults 18-49, while Hitting Season Highs in Adults 18-34 and Key Women Demos
ABC's Comedy Block is Up by 2.1 Million and by 56% in Adults 18-49 Over Year-Ago Night, the Net's Best Performance in 4 Years Against Fox's Wednesday "Idol" Debut
The No. 1 Scripted Show in its Slot, ABC's "The Middle" Tops CBS' "Gary Unmarried"
Opposite the Wednesday "Idol" Opener, "Modern Family" Beats its Season Average
"Cougar Town" Tallies its Highest Women 18-34 Rating in Nearly 4 Months
ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49 with its Top Non-Sports Numbers in 2 Months
Thursday's "ABC News Special" on the Earthquake in Haiti Draws the
Net's 2nd-Largest Non-Sports Audience in the Hour Since Early December
Overshadowing its 9pm Competitors in Adults 18-49, "Grey's Anatomy"
Is Thursday's No. 1 TV Series for the 10th Original Telecast in a Row
Marking Best-Since-Season-Premiere Results, "Private Practice" Leads its Slot in
Young Adults and Jumps Year to Year by 2.5 Million Viewers and 27% in Adults 18-49
"Supernanny" Earns its Best Viewer and Young Adult Numbers in Over 9 Months
Up Substantially Over its Week-Earlier Friday Premiere, ABC's "Shark Tank"
Beats Original Competition on CBS, NBC and Fox in Adults 18-34 and Key Men
WEEK No. 17:
During the week of January 11, 2010, ABC marked its second-highest Adult 18-49 number (2.1/6) since November, trailing only the prior week � since w/o 11/30/09.
Rankings: ABC aired 5 of the week's Top 20 non-sports television programs in Adults 18-49: "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 6, "Private Practice" � No. 9, "Desperate Housewives" � No. 13, "The Bachelor" � No. 16 and "Modern Family" � No. 20. Additionally, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" registered as the week's Top 2 scripted shows in Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
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.
Monday
Growing over the previous week in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 for the second week in a row, ABC drew its largest audience (10.2 million) and highest Adults 18-49 (3.3/9) performance on the night in 7 weeks - since 11/23/09. The Net ranked No. 1 on the night among Women 18-34 (4.2/11) and Women 18-49 (4.7/12-tie) for the 2nd straight week.
"The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Airing against original comedies on CBS and original dramas on NBC and Fox, the second episode of ABC's "The Bachelor" was up by 1.0 million viewers (10.5 million vs. 9.5 million) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (3.6/9 vs. 3.3/8) over its week ago season premiere. In fact, in its 14th edition, "The Bachelor" turned in its most-watched second episode since April '03 (11 seasons ago) and the franchise's 3rd-most-watched second telecast overall. "The Bachelor" topped the time period premieres of NBC's "Chuck" and "Heroes" from 8:00-10:00pm by 4.5 million viewers and by 50% in the key young adult sales demo (6.0 million & 2.4/6 in Adults 18-49).
� "The Bachelor" dominated its time period and ranked as Monday's No. 1 TV program among Women 18-34 (4.8/12) for the second consecutive week with a season-high performance for the Net.
� Against stiff competition, "The Bachelor" gained audience during each half-hour from 8:00-10:00pm, building by 1.8 million viewers (9.8 million to 11.6 million) and by 31% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 to 4.2/10) from start to finish.
"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Taking second in the 10 o'clock hour to CBS' veteran drama "CSI: Miami", ABC's "Castle" was up by 1.7 million viewers (9.5 million vs. 7.8 million) and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 vs. 2.1/5) over its most-recent original telecast (12/7/09).
� "Castle" hit season highs among Adults 18-34 and key Women demos: W18-34 and W18-49 (tie).
Wednesday
Up against Fox's Wednesday season premiere of "American Idol," ABC's 2-hour comedy block (repeat "Modern Family" and originals of "The Middle," "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town") delivered sharp year-to-year improvement for the Network. Versus the year-ago night (1/14/09), the Net's delivery in the 2-hour time period jumped by +2.1 million viewers (6.5 million vs. 4.4 million) and by +56% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 1.6/4). In fact it represented ABC's best performance in the time period on the night of a Wednesday Idol premiere in 4 years � since 2006, when "Lost" was in the time period.
� Despite the heightened competition, all 3 ABC comedies held up phenomenally, with each show performing at or above its season average in the Live + Same Day numbers. "The Middle" retained 100% (2.1/5 vs. 2.1/6) of its Adult 18-49 overnight season norm, while "Modern Family" (+6% - 3.3/8 vs. 3.1/8) and "Cougar Town" (+11% - 3.1/8 vs. 2.8/7) were up. Also worth noting, "Cougar Town" retained an impressive 94% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in from "Modern Family."
"The Middle" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Building sharply on its lead-in for ABC at 8:30pm opposite "Idol," ABC freshman "The Middle" finished as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot and defeated CBS' comedy, "Gary Unmarried," in the half-hour in both Total Viewers (+7% - 6.0 million vs. 5.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 2.1/5 vs. 1.9/5).
� "The Middle" is posting significant gains over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, picking up 600,000 viewers and an additional 2-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Growing from its lead-in, ABC's Modern Family took second in its time-slot among Adults 18-34 (2.9/8), Women 18-34 (3.4/9) and key Men: Men 18-34 (2.5/8) and Men 18-49 (2.8/8).
� "Modern Family" is exhibiting big increases over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, jumping by 1.4 million viewers and by an additional 7-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:01 p.m.)
Holding retention of 94% in Total Viewer and 94% in Adults 18-49 from its week-ago performance, ABC's "Cougar Town" saw 100% retention among Adults 18-34 (2.7/8), Women 18-49 (3.8/10) and Women 25-54 (4.1/9). In addition, "Cougar Town" built on its week ago performance among Women 18-34 (3.5/10 vs. 3.3/9). In fact, "Cougar Town" matched its highest rating among Women 18-34 in nearly 4 months � since 9/30/09.
� Like its lead-in, "Cougar Town" is producing gains over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, increasing by 1.1 million viewers and by an additional 5-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
"Ugly Betty" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's "Ugly Betty" took second in the 10 o'clock hour to CBS' veteran drama "CSI: New York" among Adults 18-49 (1.6/5), Women 18-49 (2.1/6) and Women 25-54 (2.4/6).
� "Ugly Betty" is seeing bumps from first-reported numbers through DVR playback, growing by 800,000 viewers and by an additional 3-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
Thursday
With an ABC News Special covering the Haitian earthquake and the return of "Grey's" and "Private Practice" to originals for the first time since Fall, ABC won Thursday night in Adults 18-49 (3.5/10), leading second place Fox by 21% (2.9/8). The Network won the night by an even wide margin in Adults 18-34, beating second-place Fox by 38% (3.3/10 vs. 2.4/7). ABC's "Grey's" and "Private Practice" stood as the Top 2 TV shows on Thursday in both key young adult demographics.
� In viewers (9.7 million) and young adults (3.5/10), ABC posted its strongest non-sports Thursday since mid-November � since 11/19/09.
"ABC News Special � Earthquake Haiti: The Race to Save a Country" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
During the 8:00 p.m. hour in a last-minute schedule change, an "ABC News Special" on the earthquake in Haiti drew the Net's 2nd-largest non-sports numbers (5.4 million and 1.4/4) in the time period since the beginning of December � since 12/3/09.
"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
On its first original telecast in 2 months (since 11/19/09), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" returned as Thursday's dominant No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (4.8/13), registering as the highest-rated series on the night for its 10th original telecast in a row. Dominating the 9 o'clock hour over all original competition, "Grey's" defeated CBS' "CSI" by 45% (3.3/9), Fox's "Fringe" by 85% (2.6/7) and NBC's back-to-back episodes of "30 Rock" by 109% (2.3/6). "Grey's" was also once again Thursday's highest-rated show in Adults 18-34 (4.8/14), growing over its most-recent original telecast.
"Private Practice" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
The No. 2 TV show of the night with its strongest "Grey's" retention this season, ABC's cross-over "Private Practice" won the 10 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49, beating CBS' original "The Mentalist" by a best-ever 24% in Adults 18-49 (4.2/12 vs. 3.4/9). Topping the combined delivery of CBS and NBC in the hour by 45% with a season-high among Adults 18-34 (4.2/13 vs. 2.9/9 � CBS and NBC combined), "Private Practice" registered as TV's No. 1 series telecast in its time slot for its 10th consecutive original airing this season.
� "Private Practice" surged from its most-recent original telecast (on 12/3/09) by 1.8 million viewers (11.0 million vs. 9.2 million) and by 31% in Adults 18-49 (4.2/12 vs. 3.2/8), marking a best-since-season premiere performance on both Nielsen measures � since 10/1/09.
� The ABC drama was also up substantially from its performance on the same night last year in the hour, jumping year to year by 2.5 million viewers and by 27% in Adults 18-49 (8.5 million and 3.3/8 on 1/15/09).
Friday
"Supernanny" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Hitting a season high, ABC's "Supernanny" took second in the 8:00 p.m. hour among Adults 18-49 to CBS' original "Ghost Whisperer," beating NBC's original "Law & Order" by 14% (1.6/5 vs. 1.4/5).
� "Supernanny" generated its strongest performance in over 9 months, drawing the series' biggest audience (5.3 million) since last March and its highest Adult 18-49 number since April � since 3/27/09 and 4/10/09, respectively.
"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Growing from its week-ago premiere in the hour by 13% in Total Viewers and by 14% among Adults 18-49, "Shark Tank" ranked No. 2 against its broadcast rivals in its hour in the key young adult sales demo (1.6/5-tie) and placed No. 1 in the slot over CBS, NBC and Fox with Adults 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49).
� "Shark tank" continued to deliver ABC's strongest young adult numbers (AD18-34/AD18-49) with regular programming in the hour this season, while posting its highest rating in nearly 1 year among Men 18-49 � since 2/13/09.
"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's "20/20" finished No. 2 to CBS' original "Num3ers" the 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (5.4 million) and across the key Adult demos: Adults 18-34 (0.9/4-tie), Adults 18-49 (1.4/5) and Adults 25-54 (1.8/5).
Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 1/11/10, unless stated otherwise.
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