Quick Take for Wednesday, April 27, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

With a Mix of 3 Repeat and 3 Original Comedies, ABC Finishes No. 2 on Wednesday in Adults 18-34 to an "Idol"-Fueled Fox

Up over its Most-Recent Repeat at 8pm, ABC's "The Middle" Equals its Highest-Rated Encore Telecast in Nearly 3 Months Among Adults 18-49

ABC's "Better with You" Builds 7% on its Lead-in at 8:30pm, Beating NBC's "Inside the Royal Wedding" by 25% in Adults 18-49

Taking Second to "Idol" at 9pm with Adults 18-49, ABC's Encore "Modern Family" Generates its Most-Watched Repeat in 6 Weeks

Building on its Lead-in, "Cougar Town" Ranks No. 2 with Key Men at 9:30pm

Surging Week to Week by Double-Digit Percentages, ABC's "Happy Endings" Produces Substantial Year-Over-Year Gains for ABC in the 10pm Half-Hour

A 10:30pm Repeat "Modern Family" is Up Over Original Programming Last Year

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

With a mix of 3 repeat and 3 original comedies up against Fox with a 90-minute "Idol," ABC finished No. 2 on Wednesday night in Adults 18-34 (1.5/5-tie).

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Opposite the first hour of Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' "Survivor: Redemption Island" at 8:00 p.m., ABC's repeat "The Middle" beat out NBC's original "Inside the Royal Wedding" by 17% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 1.2/4).

· "The Middle" was up over its most-recent repeat in the half-hour (on 4/6/11) by 11% in Total Viewers (5.2 million vs. 4.7 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 1.3/4). In fact the ABC comedy posted its most-watched repeat airing in the slot in 6 weeks and matched its top Adult 18-49 number in nearly 3 months - since 3/9/11 and 2/2/11, respectively.

"Better with You" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Building 7% on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m., ABC's freshman "Better with You" bested NBC's "Inside the Royal Wedding" by an even wider 25% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.2/3).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in against the third half-hour of Idol at 9:00 p.m., ABC's repeat "Modern Family" took second in Adults 18-49 (2.0/5), leading CBS' replay "Criminal Minds" by 11% (1.8/5) and NBC's rebroadcast of "The Voice" by 18% (1.7/4).

· "Modern Family" was up over its most-recent replay by 11% in Total Viewers (6.0 million vs. 5.4 million on 4/6/11), drawing the show's biggest encore audience since the beginning of March - since 3/9/11.

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

Growing from its lead-in among young adults and men, ABC's "Cougar Town" finished as the No. 2 series in its half-hour with key Men: Men 18-49 (1.8/5-tie) and M25-54 (2.4/5-tie).

· Despite coming out of a repeat "Modern Family," as opposed to an original the prior week, and airing against the NBA Playoffs, ABC's "Cougar Town" rose 4% week to week with Men 25-54.

"Happy Endings" (10:00-10:30 p.m.)

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "Happy Endings" surged week to week by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+13% - 5.2 million vs. 4.6 million), Adults 18-49 (+17% - 2.1/5 vs. 1.8/5) and Adults 18-34 (+25% - 2.0/5 vs. 1.6/5). Building on its lead-in by 18%, the new ABC comedy stood as the No. 1 series in its half-hour with Adults 18-34.

· "Happy Endings" was up sharply for ABC in the half-hour over premiere programming on the year-ago night, boosting the slot by 17% in Adults 18-49 and by 33% in Adults 18-34 (Debut of "Happy Town" = 1.8/5 and 1.5/4).

"Modern Family" (10:30-11:00 p.m.)

At 10:30 p.m., a second repeat of "Modern Family" improved its half-hour year to year, topping original drama programming ("Happy Town" premiere) on the same night last year by 6% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/4 vs. 1.6/5) and by 25% in Adults 18-34 (1.5/5 vs. 1.2/4).

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), 4/27/11.