"Wipeout" Marks ABC's Top Results in 6 Years Against "Idol" Premiere Night Two

Head to head against the second night of Fox's American Idol premiere from 8-9pm, ABC's Wipeout pulled in a strong 8.3 million viewers and a 2.6/7 in Adults 18-49. In fact on both Nielsen measures, Wipeout produced ABC's top time-period results in 6 years against the opening hour of any American Idol Night 2 premiere - since Lost on 1/19/05.

· Despite facing the move of Idol into the time period this year, Wipeout drastically improved the hour year to year for ABC in Total Viewers (+17%) and Adults 18-49 (+44%) over original drama programming on the year-ago night (Deep End = 7.1 million and 1.8/5 on 1/21/10).

· ABC was the only net to build audience in the hour against Idol, as CBS, NBC, and CW each lost viewers and young adults from 8-9pm. From its first half-hour to its second-half hour, Wipeout surged by 9% in viewers (7.9 million to 8.6 million) and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 to 2.8/8). In fact from 8:30-9pm, Wipeout ranked #2 to Idol in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34, key Women (W18-34/W18-49), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

At 9pm coming out of Wipeout, ABC's Grey's Anatomy posted its strongest repeat numbers this season in viewers and young adults (4.7 million and 1.6/4), despite facing all-original competition on CBS, NBC, and Fox.

Quick Take for Thursday, January 20, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

"Wipeout" Marks ABC's Top Results in 6 Years Against Night 2 of an "Idol" Premiere

Despite the Move of "Idol" Into the Time Period This Year, "Wipeout" Improves Its Hour for ABC Year to Year by 17% in Viewers and by 44% in Adults 18-49

ABC is the Only Net to Build Audience Opposite the "Idol" Opener from 8-9pm

ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" Generates Strongest Repeat Numbers This Season

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

Head to head against the second night of Fox's "American Idol" premiere from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "Wipeout" pulled in an impressive 8.3 million viewers and a 2.6/7 in Adults 18-49. In the hour the winter edition of the ABC unscripted series beat out NBC's original comedies, including the well-promoted series debut of "Perfect Couples," by 3.9 million viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49 ("Community"/"Perfect Couples" = 4.4 million and 2.2/6).

· In viewers and young adults, "Wipeout" produced ABC's top results in 6 years against the opening hour of any "American Idol" Night 2 premiere - since "Lost" on 1/19/05.

· Despite facing the move of "Idol" into the time period this year, "Wipeout" drastically improved the hour year to year for ABC in Total Viewers (+17%) and Adults 18-49 (+44%) over original drama programming on the year-ago night ("Deep End" = 7.1 million and 1.8/5 on 1/21/10).

· ABC was the only net to build audience in the hour against "Idol," as CBS, NBC and CW each lost viewers from 8:00-9:00 p.m. From its first half-hour to its second-half hour, "Wipeout" surged by 9% in viewers (7.9 million to 8.6 million) and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 to 2.8/8). In fact during its second half-hour from 8:30-9:00 p.m., "Wipeout" ranked No. 2 to "Idol" in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34, key Women (W18-34/W18-49), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

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

At 9:00 p.m. coming out of "Wipeout," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" posted its strongest repeat numbers this season in viewers and young adults (4.7 million and 1.6/4), despite facing all-original competition on CBS, NBC, and Fox.

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), 1/20/11.