ABC Marks Top Memorial Day in 4 Years

Some early points on ABC's Monday, ahead of the regular press release.

With The Bachelorette and the season opener of True Beauty on Memorial Day, ABC took second place on the night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while finishing #1 on Monday with Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and across key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· ABC was up from Memorial Day Monday last year (5/25/09), when it aired The Bachelorette into the premiere of Here Come the Newlyweds, by 1.3 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49, despite facing competition from the Stanly Cup Finals Game 2 this year. In fact in viewers and young adults, ABC marked its strongest Memorial Day results in 4 years - since 2006.

ABC's The Bachelorette finished #1 in its 2-hour time period (8-10pm) with Total Viewers (tie), Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. The ABC unscripted series also won its 2-hour slot for the 2nd straight week among its core audience of Women 18-34. In fact The Bachelorette stood as Monday's #1 TV show with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· The Bachelorette posted year-to-year increases over its performance on Memorial Day last year of 1.6 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49.

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's season premiere of True Beauty earned second place in Adults 18-49 and finished #1 across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· True Beauty improved the hour year to year for ABC, up over the Memorial Day premiere of Here Come the Newlyweds last year by 10% in Total Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49.

Quick Take for Monday, May 31, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on the Night in Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and All Key Women, Marking is Best Memorial Day Results in Viewers and Adults 18-49 Since 2006

Up Over its Year-Ago Performance, ABC's "The Bachelorette" Leads its 2-Hour Time Period in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"The Bachelorette" is Monday's No. 1 Program Among Key Women Demos

Premiere of "True Beauty" Improves its Time Period in Viewers and Young Adults

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

With "The Bachelorette" and the season opener of "True Beauty" on Memorial Day, ABC took second place on the night in Total Viewers (6.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), while finishing No. 1 on Monday with Adults 18-34 (1.9/6), Adults 25-54 (2.8/7-tie) and across key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· ABC was up from Memorial Day Monday last year (5/25/09), when it aired "The Bachelorette" into the premiere of "Here Come the Newlyweds," by 1.3 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49, despite facing competition from the Stanley Cup Finals' Game 2 on NBC this year. In fact in viewers and young adults, ABC marked its strongest Memorial Day results in 4 years - since 2006.

"The Bachelorette - SP - 5/31" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's "The Bachelorette" finished No. 1 in its 2-hour time period (8:00-10:00 p.m.) with Total Viewers (7.6 million-tie), Adults 18-49 (2.4/7) and Adults 18-34 (2.0/7). The ABC unscripted series also won its time-slot for the 2nd straight week among its core audience of Women 18-34 (3.0/10). In fact "The Bachelorette" stood as Monday's No. 1 TV show with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· "The Bachelorette" posted year-to-year increases over its performance on Memorial Day last year of 1.6 million viewers and 14% in Adults 18-49 (6.0 million vs. 2.1/6 on 5/25/09).

"True Beauty - 5/31" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's season premiere of "True Beauty" earned second place in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) and finished No. 1 across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "True Beauty" improved the hour year to year for ABC, up over the Memorial Day premiere of "Here Come the Newlyweds" last year by 10% in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 4.9 million) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.9/5).

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 36% currently, from 31% 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), 5/31/10.