ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49 as "Wipeout" Marks Most-Watched-Ever Telecast

Some early info on ABC's Thursday, ahead of the regular press release.

ABC won Thursday night in Adults 18-49, besting CBS' all-original line up by 6%. Hitting a season high, the Net generated its strongest non-sports Thursday performance since last May - since 5/20/10.

ABC's Winter premiere of Wipeout finished #1 in the 9 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (tied w/CBS), giving the Net its first #1 ranking in the time period this season with regular programming against CBS' original comedies. The ABC unscripted series also ran #1 in the hour with Adults 18-34, key Women (W18-34/W18-49), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

· In viewers and young adults, Wipeout produced ABC's strongest non-sports performance in the time period in well over 1 year - since 9/24/09. The broad-appealing show generated ABC's highest non-sports Teen 12-17 number in the hour in nearly 8 years - since 2/6/03.

· Wipeout opened its Winter season with the series' most-watched telecast ever and equaled its 2nd-best-ever number with Adults 18-49. Wipeout also achieved series-highs with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

Up from its most-recent original airing in early December, ABC's Grey's Anatomy dominated Thursday's 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, registering as the #1 series in the slot for its 11th consecutive telecast this season. Grey's beat out its nearest competition in the time period by 27% (CBS' original CSI). Building on last first-run airing (on 12/2/10) in Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%), Grey's drew its biggest audience since early-November and hit its highest Adult 18-49 number since mid-November - since 11/4/10 and 11/18/10, respectively.

Quick Take for Thursday, January 6, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Marking a Season High on the Night, ABC Wins Thursday Among Adults 18-49

Opening its Winter Season at No. 1 Across Key Demographics, ABC's "Wipeout" Generates the Series' Biggest Audience Ever

"Wipeout" Scores ABC's Strongest Non-Sports Performance in the Hour in Well Over 1 Year in Viewers and Young Adults and in Nearly 8 Years with Teens 12-17

Drawing its Biggest Audience Since Early November, ABC's "Grey's" Stands As the No. 1 Series in its Hour with Adults 18-49 for the 11th Straight Airing

"Private Practice" is the No. 1 Scripted Show in the 10 O'clock Hour Among Adults 18-34 and Across All Key Women Demographics

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

ABC won Thursday night in Adults 18-49, besting CBS with its all-original line up by 6% (3.6/10 vs. 3.4/9).

· Hitting a season high on the evening in Adults 18-49, the Net generated its best non-sports Thursday performance since last May - since 5/20/10.

"Wipeout" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's Winter premiere of "Wipeout" opened at No. 1 in the 8 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (3.7/11 - tied w/CBS'), giving the Net its first No. 1 ranking in the time period this season with regular programming against CBS' original comedies ("Big Bang Theory"/"$#*! My Dad Says"). The ABC unscripted series also ran No. 1 in the hour with Adults 18-34, key Women (W18-34/W18-49), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. In fact it was Thursday's No. 1 TV show with Kids 2-11, qualifying as broadcast TV's top-rated regular primetime telecast of the 2010-11 season.

· In viewers (11.6 million) and young adults (3.7/11), "Wipeout" produced ABC's strongest non-sports performance in the time period in well over 1 year - since 9/24/09. The broad-appealing series generated the Net's highest non-sports Teen 12-17 (3.5/12) number in the hour in nearly 8 years - since 2/6/03. Furthermore among Kids 2-11 (4.4/15), it equaled ABC's strongest number in the hour in close to 9 years - since 2/14/02.

· "Wipeout" opened its Winter season with the series' most-watched telecast ever, while matching its 2nd-best-ever number with Adults 18-49. "Wipeout" also achieved series-highs with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Up from its most-recent original airing in early December, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" dominated Thursday's 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, registering as the No. 1 series in the slot for its 11th consecutive telecast this season. Grey's beat out its nearest competition in the time period by 27% (4.2/11 vs. 3.3/9 - CBS' original "CSI"). Building on its last first-run broadcast (on 12/2/10) in Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%), Grey's drew its biggest overall audience since early-November and hit its highest Adult 18-49 number since mid-November - since 11/4/10 and 11/18/10, respectively.

"Private Practice" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Private Practice" stood as the No. 1 scripted show in the 10 o'clock hour with Adults 18-34 (2.1/6) and across all key Women demographics: W18-34 (3.2/9), W18-49 (4.2/11) and W25-54 (5.0/12).

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 2010. 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), 1/6/11.