ABC Outdraws NBC and Fox on Monday

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

With the second week of Skating with the Stars in its new time period and the CMA Country Christmas special, ABC (6.7 million) outdrew NBC on Monday night by 12% (6.0 million) and Fox by 18% (5.7 million).

Leading off the night from 8-9:30pm, ABC's Skating with the Stars defeated Fox's programming in the 90-minute time slot by 9% in Total Viewers (6.0 million vs. 5.5 million - House-R/Lie to Me).

Building sharply on its lead-in (+22%), ABC's CMA Country Christmas special drew an average audience of 7.3 million viewers during its 90-mintue telecast, topping original competition on NBC and Fox by wide margins. At 9:30pm, CMA Country Christmas bested the final half-hour of Fox's Lie to Me by 1 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.3 million) and from 9:30-11pm beat out NBC's The Event/Chase by 1.4 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 5.9 million).

· CMA Country Christmas improved its time period for ABC over the same night last year by 1.0 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.3 million).

Quick Take for Monday, November 29, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Outdraws NBC by 12% and Fox by 18% in Total Viewers

"Skating with the Stars" Tops Fox by 9% in Viewers in its Time Period

Building on its Lead-in in Viewers, "CMA Country Christmas" Beats Fox by 1.0 Million and NBC by 1.4 Million from 9:30-11pm

"CMA Country Christmas" is Up Over ABC's Year-Ago Performance in its Time Slot by 1.0 Million Viewers

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

With the second week of "Skating with the Stars" in its new time period and the "CMA Country Christmas" special, ABC (6.7 million) outdrew NBC on Monday night by 12% (6.0 million) and Fox by 18% (5.7 million).

"Skating with the Stars" (8:00-9:30 p.m.)

Leading off the night from 8-9:30 p.m., ABC's "Skating with the Stars" defeated Fox's programming in the 90-minute time slot by 9% in Total Viewers (6.0 million vs. 5.5 million - "House"-R/"Lie to Me").

"CMA Country Christmas" (9:3-11:00 p.m.)

Building sharply on its lead-in (+22%), ABC's "CMA Country Christmas" special drew an average audience of 7.3 million viewers during its 90-minute telecast, topping original competition on NBC and Fox by wide margins. At 9:30 p.m., "CMA Country Christmas" bested the final half-hour of Fox's "Lie to Me" by 1.0 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.3 million) and from 9:30 - 11:00 p.m. beat out NBC's "The Event"/"Chase" by 1.4 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 5.9 million).

· "CMA Country Christmas" improved its time period for ABC over the same night last year (11/30/09) by 1.0 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.3 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 38% currently, from 34% 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), 11/29/10.