ABC Scores its Best Tuesday in 6 Weeks with Young Adults

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

With its lineup of 2 dramas and a special edition of 20/20, ABC attracted its second largest audience and equaled its highest Adult 18-49 number in 6 weeks - since 12/7/10. The Net continued to deliver substantial year-to-year gains on the evening, soaring over the year-ago night (1/19/10) by 3.0 million viewers and by 89% in Adults 18-49.

At 8pm, ABC's No Ordinary Family was up by 8% in Total Viewers and 20% among Adults 18-49 week to week. In addition, No Ordinary Family registered sizeable year-to-year improvement for ABC in the hour, up by 3.6 million viewers and by 157% from the year-ago night.

Building on its lead-in among Adults 18-49 (+11%), ABC's V posted gains over the previous week among young adults against original competition on CBS (NCIS: LA), NBC (The Biggest Loser: Couples) and Fox (Million Dollar Money Drop). V improved the 9 o'clock hour by impressive margins in Total Viewers (+90%) and Adults 18-49 (+67%) over the same night last year. In addition, V posted a season high in Men 18-34 and beat out its broadcast rivals to rank #1 at 9pm.

A special edition of ABC's 20/20 at 10pm, featuring Capt. Mark Kelly in his first television interview since the shootings in Tucson, generated the Net's best time period numbers in 6 weeks in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 - since 12/7/10. The 20/20 special boosted its time slot by wide margins from the year-ago night by 84% in Total Viewers, by 44% in Adults 18-49 and by 58% in Adults 25-54.

Quick Take for Tuesday, January 18, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Scores its Best Tuesday in 6 Weeks with Young Adults, Almost Doubling the Net's Year-Ago Performance

ABC's "No Ordinary Family" Builds Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults

Posting a Season High in Men 18-34, ABC's "V" is No. 1 at 9pm

A Special Edition of ABC's "20/20" Turns in the Net's Best Results in Tuesday's 10pm Hour in 6 Weeks

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

With its lineup of 2 dramas and a special edition of "20/20," ABC attracted its second-largest audience and equaled its highest Adult 18-49 number in 6 weeks - since 12/7/10. The Net continued to deliver substantial year-to-year gains on the evening, soaring over the year-ago night (1/19/10) by 3.0 million viewers (5.8 million vs. 2.8 million) and by 89% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 0.9/3).

"No Ordinary Family" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "No Ordinary Family" was up by 8% in Total Viewers (5.7 million) and by 20% among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5) week to week. In addition, "No Ordinary Family" registered sizeable year-to-year improvement for ABC in the hour, up by 3.6 million viewers (5.7 million vs. 2.1 million) and by 157% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 0.7/2) from the year-ago night.

"V" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in among Adults 18-49 (+11%), ABC's "V" posted gains over the previous week among young adults against original competition on CBS ("NCIS: Los Angeles"), NBC ("The Biggest Loser: Couples") and Fox ("Million Dollar Money Drop"). "V" improved the 9 o'clock hour by impressive margins in Total Viewers (+90% - 5.7 million vs. 3.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+67% - 2.0/5 vs. 1.2/3) over the same night last year.

· The ABC drama posted a season-high in Men 18-34 (1.5/5) and beat out its broadcast rivals to rank No. 1 (tie) at 9:00 p.m.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

A special edition of ABC's "20/20" at 10:00 p.m., featuring Capt. Mark Kelly in his first television interview since the shootings in Tucson, generated the Net's best time period numbers in 6 weeks in Total Viewers (6.2 million), Adults 18-49 (1.3/4) and Adults 25-54 (1.9/5) - since 12/7/10. The "20/20" special boosted its time slot by wide margins from the year-ago night by 84% in Total Viewers, by 44% in Adults 18-49 and by 58% in Adults 25-54.

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 39% currently, from 35% 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), 1/18/11.