Growing Against "Idol," ABC Scores its Best Season-Ending Wednesday in 4 Years

Some early info on ABC's Wednesday night numbers against the season finale of Idol.

Opposite Fox's 2-hour "American Idol" season closer on the final evening of the season, ABC's Wednesday night comedy finales earned a strong second place among Adults 18-49, beating CBS by 35% and NBC by 92%.

· Building week to week against the "Idol" finale in viewers (+5%) and young adults (+5%), ABC equaled 15-week Wednesday highs in both Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34 - since 2/9/11.

· Surging over the year-ago night by double-digit percentages in viewers (+31%) and young adults (+28%), ABC marked its strongest season-ending Wednesday in 4 years - since 2007.

· On average during the 2010-11 season, ABC's Wednesday numbers grew over last season in both Total Viewers (+10%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%).

· TV's No. 1 comedy and the top-rated scripted series for the 2010-11 season in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" qualified as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted television show on all 24 of its original airings this season.

...more to come.

Quick Take for Wednesday, May 25, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Generates its Strongest Season-Ending Wednesday Performance in 4 Years

At 8pm, ABC's "The Middle" Ranks No. 2 to "Idol" in Viewers and Young Adults While Posting the Series' Highest Men Numbers in More Than 4 Months

Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show, ABC's "Modern Family" Finishes Out its Season as the Fastest Growing Series on the Major Nets

ABC's 1-Hour Season Finale of "Cougar Town" Finale Builds Week to Week in Total Viewers and Key Women at 9:30pm and Improves its Time Slot at 10pm

At 10:30pm, the "Happy Endings" Finale Scores ABC's Top Adult 18-49 Number In the Time Slot in 6 Weeks and the Best Men 18-34 Number in Over 6 Months

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

Opposite Fox's 2-hour "American Idol" season closer on the final evening of the season, ABC's Wednesday night comedy finales earned a strong second place among Adults 18-49 (2.3/6), beating CBS by 35% (1.7/5) and NBC by 92% (1.2/3).

· Building week to week against the "Idol" finale in viewers (+5% - 6.3 million vs. 6.0 million) and young adults (+5% - 2.3/6 vs. 2.2/6), ABC equaled 15-week Wednesday highs in both Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34 - since 2/9/11.

· Surging over the year-ago night (4.8 million and 1.8/5 on 5/26/10) by double-digit percentages in viewers (+31%) and young adults (+28%), ABC marked its strongest season-ending Wednesday in 4 years - since 2007.

· On average during the 2010-11 season, ABC's Wednesday numbers grew over last season in both Total Viewers (+10% - 7.8 million vs. 7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+4% - 2.7/7 vs. 2.6/7).

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

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's sophomore season finale of "The Middle" finished No. 2 to "Idol" in viewers (7.4 million) and young adults (2.2/7).

· "The Middle" posted its highest-rated telecast in more than 4 months with Men 18-34 (1.6/6) - since 1/19/11.

· On average during its sophomore season, ABC's "The Middle" finished as TV's 2nd-biggest year-to-year gainer among returning scripted series (behind only "Modern Family"), surging by 21% in Total Viewers (8.1 million vs. 6.7 million) over its performance in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour last season.

"Modern Family" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:30 p.m. among Adults 18-49, a repeat telecast of "Modern Family" (1.9/5) beat out CBS' replay "Big Bang Theory" by 12% (1.7/5) and NBC's replay "Minute to Win It" by 90% (1.0/3).

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

Soaring over its lead-in with Total Viewers (+70% - 10.2 million vs. 6.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+116% - 4.1/11 vs. 1.9/5) against the third half-hour of "Idol" at 9:00 p.m., ABC's season closer of "Modern Family" finished as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted show on both Nielsen measures. In fact among Adults 18-49, the ABC comedy qualified as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted show on all 24 of its original airings this season.

· Up against the "Idol" finale and the NBA Playoffs, "Modern Family" held all of its Total Viewer and Adult 18-49 audience week to week, while posting its highest numbers in 2 months among key Men (M18-34/M18-49) - since 3/23/11.

· ABC's "Modern Family" capped out its sophomore season as the fastest-growing TV show on the broadcast nets, jumping over its freshman season by 23% in Total Viewers (11.8 million vs. 9.6 million) and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (4.8/12 vs. 4.0/10).

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

In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour against the final segment of "Idol," the first part of ABC's 2-part season finale "Cougar Town" ran as the No. 2 series in its half-hour across all key Adult demos: AD18-34 (1.8/5), AD18-49 (2.0/5) and AD25-54 (2.4/5).

· "Cougar Town" was up week to week in Total Viewers and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

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

At 10:00 p.m. opposite season finale programming on CBS and NBC, the second part of ABC's "Cougar Town" finale finished as the No. 2 series in its time period among Adults 18-49 (1.9/5) and No. 1 among Adults 18-34 (1.7/5).

· "Cougar Town" improved its half-hour week to week for ABC by wide margins in Total Viewers (+32% - 4.9 million vs. 3.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+27% - 1.9/5 vs. 1.5/4).

"Happy Endings" (10:30-11:00 p.m.)

Building its numbers at 10:30 p.m., ABC's freshman season finale of "Happy Endings" posted the Net's top Adult 18-49 rating (1.7/4) in the time slot in 6 weeks, its highest Adult 18-34 number (1.5/4-tie) in more than 4 months and its best Men 18-34 number (1.2/4-tie) in more than 6 months - since 4/13/11, 1/12/11 and 11/10/10, respectively.

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 41% 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), 5/25/11.