ABC Wins Monday and Hits Summer Highs with "The Bachelorette" Finale

With strong turnouts for the season closer of The Bachelorette and The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose special, ABC delivered a definitive victory on Monday night, beating its second-place Fox by 4.0 million viewers and by 17% among Adults 18-49. In fact, the Net ranked #1 all 6 half-hours on Monday evening with viewers and young adults.

· ABC has registered as the most-watched television network on every regular Monday of Summer 2011 (excluding only July 4th), holding the top position on 20 of the past 21 weeks.

· ABC scored Monday summer-highs in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

On its 7th-season finale, ABC's The Bachelorette once again rose to the top of its 2-hour time period, leading its nearest competitor (Fox) by 4.1 million viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49 . Building by 19% in Total Viewers and by 33% in Adults 18-49 from start to finish, The Bachelorette attracted 10.6 million viewers during its final half-hour as Ashley picked J.P. Rosenbaum and then accepted his marriage proposal. The Bachelorette qualified as Monday's most-watched TV show on every original telecast this summer.

· Building its numbers for the 2nd week in a row, The Bachelorette produced its most-watched telecast this season.

· Drawing an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 2.9 rating, 8 share in Adults 18-49 during its seventh season, ABC's The Bachelorette generated the series' 2nd-strongest Summer edition ever.

Towering over the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose beat its combined CBS and NBC competition in the time period by wide margins in both Total Viewers (+22%) and Adults 18-49 (+87%). ABC's After the Final Rose special built on its lead-in to stand as Monday's #1 TV program in Adults 18-49.

· Posting summer-highs, The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose generated the Network's strongest summer performance in the hour in 1 year - since 8/2/10.

Quick Take for Monday, August 1, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Hitting Summer Highs, ABC is No. 1 on Monday In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Leading All 6 Half-Hours

Growing Week to Week for the 2nd Week in a Row, Season Finale of ABC's "The Bachelorette" Leads its Time Period and is Monday's Most-Watched Program

ABC's "The Bachelorette" Finale Draws its Most-Watched Telecast of the Season

At 10pm, ABC's "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" Beats Combined Performance of CBS and NBC in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" Scores Net's Best Summer Numbers in the Hour in 1 Year

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

With strong turnouts for the season closer of "The Bachelorette" and "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" special, ABC delivered a definitive victory on Monday night, beating second-place Fox by 4.0 million viewers (9.4 million vs. 5.4 million) and by 17% among Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.3/7). In fact, the Net ranked No. 1 in all 6 half-hours on Monday evening with viewers and young adults.

· ABC has registered as the most-watched television network on every regular Monday of Summer 2011 (excluding only July 4th), holding the top position on 20 of the past 21 weeks.

· ABC scored Monday summer highs in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

On its 7th-season finale, ABC's "The Bachelorette" once again rose to the top of its 2-hour time period, leading its nearest competitor (Fox) by 4.1 million viewers (9.5 million vs. 5.4 million) and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.3/7). Building by 19% in Total Viewers and by 33% in Adults 18-49 from start to finish, "The Bachelorette" attracted 10.6 million viewers during its final half-hour as Ashley picked J.P. Rosenbaum and then accepted his marriage proposal. "The Bachelorette" qualified as Monday's most-watched TV show on every original telecast this summer.

· Building its numbers for the 2nd week in a row, "The Bachelorette" produced its most-watched telecast this season.

· Drawing an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 2.9 rating, 8 share in Adults 18-49 during its seventh season, ABC's "The Bachelorette" generated the series' 2nd-strongest summer edition ever.

"The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Towering over the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" beat its combined CBS and NBC competition in the time period by wide margins in both Total Viewers (+22% - 9.3 million vs. 7.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+87% - 2.8/8 vs. 1.5/5). ABC's "After the Final Rose" special built on its lead-in to stand as Monday's No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-49.

· Posting summer highs, "The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose" generated the Network's strongest summer performance in the hour in 1 year - since 8/2/10.

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 37% 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), 8/1/11.