ABC's "Shark Tank" Surges to Series Highs

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

Growing week to week in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+6%), ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on Sunday evening.

ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos earned second place during the 7 o'clock hour in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while ranking #1 with Women 18-49. AFV also stood as the top broadcast show in the hour with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

Surging over its lead-in at 8pm in viewers (+3.4 million) and young adults (+60%), ABC's Secret Millionaire placed a strong second in its time slot, running in a virtual-tie for #1 among Adults 18-49 with CBS' veteran Amazing Race (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series ranked #1 in the hour with key Women (W18-49/W25-54), while standing as the night's top-rated broadcast program with Kids 2-11. In addition, ABC's freshman Secret Millionaire overshadowed its freshman competition in Sunday's 8pm hour, besting NBC's America's Next Great Restaurant by 162% in Total Viewers and by 100% in Adults 18-49.

· Secret Millionaire continued to greatly improve its time period year to year for ABC, up over the year-ago night with original programming in the hour by 36% in Total Viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49.

In the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's special preview of Shark Tank was up sharply from its most-recent telecast in February 2010 (on 2/5/10), gaining 35% in Total Viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49. In fact among viewers and young adults, ABC's Shark Tank achieved series-high numbers. Please Note: Shark Tank moves to Friday at 8 o'clock on 3/25/11.

Quick Take for Sunday, March 20, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Rising Week to Week, ABC Finishes as 2nd-Most-Watched Net on Sunday Night

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" is a Solid No. 2 at 7pm in Viewers and Young Adults, While Ranking No. 1 in Women 18-49, Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11

At 8pm, ABC's "Secret Millionaire" Runs in a Virtual Tie for No. 1 with CBS' Veteran "Amazing Race" in Adults 18-49, and Towers Over NBC's "Next Great Restaurant"

"Secret Millionaire" Continues to Generate Strong Year-to-Year Time Period Gains

Surging Over its Most-Recent Airing in February 2010 by Double-Digit Percentages, ABC's "Shark Tank" Returns with Series-High Results in Viewers and Young Adults

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

Growing week to week in viewers (+4% - 7.0 million vs. 6.7 million) and young adults (+6% - 1.7/5 vs. 1.6/5), ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on Sunday evening.

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

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" earned second place during the 7 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (6.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.5/5), while ranking No. 1 with Women 18-49 (1.7/6). "AFV" also stood as the top broadcast show in the hour with Teens 12-17 (1.0/4-tie) and Kids 2-11 (1.5/6).

"Secret Millionaire" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Surging over its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. in viewers (+3.4 million) and young adults (+60%), ABC's "Secret Millionaire" placed a strong second in its time slot, running in a virtual-tie for No. 1 among Adults 18-49 with CBS' veteran "Amazing Race XVIII" (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share - 2.4/7 vs. 2.5/7). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series ranked No. 1 in the hour with key Women [W18-49 - 2.8/8 (tie) and W25-54 - 4.2/11], while standing as the night's top-rated broadcast program with Kids 2-11 (1.7/6-tie). In addition, ABC's freshman "Secret Millionaire" overshadowed its freshman time period competition, besting NBC's "America's Next Great Restaurant" (3.9 million and 1.2/4) by 162% in Total Viewers and by 100% in Adults 18-49.

· "Secret Millionaire" continued to greatly improve its time period year to year for ABC, up over the year-ago night with original programming in the hour by 36% in Total Viewers (10.2 million vs. 7.5 million) and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 2.0/5).

"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

In the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's special preview of "Shark Tank" was up sharply from its most-recent telecast in February 2010 (on 2/5/10), gaining 35% in Total Viewers (6.2 million vs. 4.6 million) and 36% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.4/4). In fact among viewers and young adults, ABC's "Shark Tank" achieved series-high numbers. Please Note: "Shark Tank" moves to Friday at 8 o'clock on 3/25/11.

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 40% currently, from 36% 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), 3/20/11.