ABC's Builds its Sunday Audience/Housewives is #1 Non-Sports

Preliminary highlights for ABC's Tuesday, ahead of the regular press release:

Airing against sports-driven competition on the night on CBS (NFL overrun), NBC (Sunday Night Football) and Fox (NFL overrun/National League Championship Series - Game 2), ABC was up week to week in Total Viewers, while holding 100% retention among Adults 18-49.

At 7pm, ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos hit season-highs in Adults 18-34, Women 18-34, Teens 12-17 and Kids 12-17.

Building on its lead-in at 8pm, ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition saw its audience grow over the previous week, while turning in a season-high performance among Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

Against stiff competition on the night, including another big Sunday Night Football match-up on NBC (Indianapolis Colts-Washington Redskins) and Game 2 of the NLCS on Fox, ABC's Desperate Housewives registered as Sunday's #1 entertainment TV show among Adults 18-49, for the 3rd week in a row. Housewives also finished #1 against its non-sports competition in its 9 o'clock time slot in viewers and young adults for the 2nd week running. Housewives stood as Sunday's #1 TV program overall across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) for the 4th consecutive week.

Opposite the conclusion of the NFL game and CBS' combo of Undercover Boss and CSI: Miami, ABC's Brothers & Sisters finished as the No. 1 TV show at 10pm among Women 18-49 and Women 25-54, taking the top spot among Women 18-49 for the 3rd time in 4 telecasts this season.

Quick Take for Sunday, October 17, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Opposite Sports-Driven Programming on CBS, NBC and Fox, ABC Grows its Overall Sunday Audience Week to Week

"America's Funniest Home Videos" Hits Season-Highs in Adults 18-34, Teens and Kids

"Home Edition" is Up in Total Viewers Over the Previous Week and Hits a Season-Best in Teens and Kids

"Desperate Housewives" Stands as Sunday's No. 1 Entertainment Program in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Week in a Row

"Brothers & Sisters" is No. 1 at 10pm in Women 18-49 for the 3rd Time in 4 Weeks

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Airing against sports-driven competition on the night on CBS (NFL overrun), NBC ("Sunday Night Football") and Fox (NFL overrun/"National League Championship Series - Game 2"), ABC was up week to week in Total Viewers (9.3 million vs. 9.0 million), while holding 100% retention among Adults 18-49 (2.6/7).

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

At 7:00 p.m., ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" hit season-highs in Adults 18-34 (1.5/5), Women 18-34 (1.7/6), Teens 12-17 (1.2/5) and Kids 12-17 (1.7/7).

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" saw its audience grow over the previous week (8.6 million vs. 8.2 million), while turning in a season-high performance among Teens 12-17 (1.9/6) and Kids 2-11 (1.8/6).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Against stiff competition on the night, including another big Sunday Night Football match-up on NBC (Indianapolis Colts-Washington Redskins) and Game 2 of the NLCS on Fox, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" registered as Sunday's No. 1 entertainment TV show among Adults 18-49 (3.8/9), for the 3rd week in a row. "Housewives" also finished No. 1 against its non-sports competition in its 9 o'clock time slot in viewers (12.4 million) and young adults (3.8/9) for the 2nd week running. "Housewives" stood as Sunday's No. 1 TV program overall across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) for the 4th consecutive week.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite the conclusion of the NFL game and CBS' combo of "Undercover Boss" and "CSI: Miami," ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" finished as the No. 1 TV show at 10:00 p.m. among Women 18-49 (4.0/11-tied) and Women 25-54 (4.8/12), taking the top spot among Women 18-49 for the 3rd time in 4 telecasts this season.

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 38% currently, from 33% 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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 10/17/10.