Modern Family and Cougar Town Post Best Results Since September

Some early points on ABC's Wednesday numbers ahead of the regular press release...

ABC's Repeat Comedies (8-9pm): Opposite American Idol from 8-9pm, repeats of Modern Family and The Middle gained Adult 18-49 audience (+6%) for ABC in the hour. In fact ABC was the only broadcaster to grow in the hour, as original programming on CBS (Old Christine/Gary Unmarried) and NBC (Mercy) lost young adults in the time period.

� At 8:30 p.m., a replay ABC's The Middle defeated NBC's original Mercy by 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/4 vs. 1.4/4). Despite facing Idol, The Middle posted its 2nd-highest repeat number to date.

Modern Family (9-9:30pm): Shooting up from its lead-in by an astounding +141% in Adults 18-49, ABC's Modern Family (4.1/11) finished in a near-tie for first place in its slot with CBS veteran Criminal Minds (4.2/11), beating the first half of Fox's Idol-fueled Wednesday premiere of Human Target by 8% (3.8/10). Modern Family won its half-hour among Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49)�Wednesday's #1 scripted TV show on all 4 Nielsen measures.

� Modern Family matched a best-since-debut Adult 18-49 number � best since 9/23/09. The comedy achieved series-high numbers among Adults 18-34 (3.7/11) and Women 18-34 (4.3/12).

Cougar Town (9:30-10pm): Growing 10% week to week in Adults 18-49, ABC freshman Cougar Town took second place at 9:30pm, beating out the second half-hour of Fox's freshman Wednesday debut of Human Target by 17% (3.4/9 vs. 2.9/8). Cougar Town finished as #2 scripted TV show of the night with AD18-34 (3.1/9), M18-34 (2.2/7) and W18-34 (4.0/11), behind only Modern Family.

� Cougar Town marked the series' highest young adult numbers (AD18-34/AD18-49) since September � since 9/30/09.

Ugly Betty (10-11pm): Opposite CBS' veteran CSI: NY in the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's Ugly Betty defeated NBC's Leno by 33% among Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.2/4).

� Betty increased its overall audience week to week (4.6 million vs. 4.4 million).

Quick Take for Wednesday, January 20, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's 8-9pm Repeat Comedies Build Adult 18-49 Audience Against "Idol," As a Repeat "The Middle" Beats NBC's Original "Mercy" at 8:30pm by 21%

"Modern Family" Matches a Best-Since-Debut Adult 18-49 Number And Achieves Series Highs with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

Posting its Highest Young Adult Numbers in 4 Months, "Cougar Town" Beats Fox's "Idol"-Fueled Wednesday Premiere of "Human Target" by 17%

At 10 pm, ABC's "Ugly Betty" Grows is Overall Audience Week to Week

ABC Repeat Comedies (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opposite "American Idol" from 8:00-9:00 p.m., repeats of "Modern Family" and "The Middle" gained Adult 18-49 audience (+6%) for ABC in the hour. In fact ABC was the only broadcaster to grow in the time period.

� At 8:30 p.m., a replay ABC's "The Middle" defeated NBC's original Mercy by 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/4 vs. 1.4/4). Despite facing "Idol," "The Middle" posted its second-highest repeat number to date.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Shooting up from its lead-in by an astounding +141% in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" (4.1/11) finished in a near-tie for first place in its slot with CBS veteran Criminal Minds (4.2/11), beating the first half of Fox's "Idol"-fueled Wednesday premiere of "Human Target" by 8% (3.8/10). "Modern Family" won its half-hour among Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49), standing as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show on all 4 Nielsen measures.

� "Modern Family" matched a best-since-debut Adult 18-49 number � best since 9/23/09. The comedy achieved series-high numbers among Adults 18-34 (3.7/11) and Women 18-34 (4.3/12).

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

Growing 10% week to week in Adults 18-49, ABC freshman "Cougar Town" took second place at 9:30 p.m., beating out the second half-hour of Fox's freshman Wednesday debut of "Human Target" by 17% (3.4/9 vs. 2.9/8). "Cougar Town" finished as No. 2 scripted TV show of the night with Adults 18-34 (3.1/9), Men 18-34 (2.2/7-tie) and Women 18-34 (4.0/11), behind only Modern Family.

� "Cougar Town" marked the series' highest young Adult and Women numbers (AD18-34/AD18-49/W18-34/W18-49) since September � since 9/30/09.

"Ugly Betty" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite CBS' veteran "CSI: NY" in the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Ugly Betty" defeated NBC's "Jay Leno" by a best-ever 33% among Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.2/4).

� "Betty" increased its overall audience week to week (4.6 million vs. 4.4 million).

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), 1/20/10.