Quick Take for Monday, September 5, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Building its Labor Day Audience by 10% Year to Year, ABC Holds Double-Digit Percentage Advantages Over Fox, CBS and NBC on Monday

Monday's Most-Watched TV Show, "Bachelor Pad" Continues to Grow Year to Year

Gaining Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, an Encore "Castle" Draws A Larger Audience to its Slot for ABC Year Over Year for the 4th Week Running

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

Featuring "Bachelor Pad" and a repeat "Castle," ABC (5.3 million) outdrew its network rivals by double-digit percentages on Labor Day among Total Viewers, leading Fox by 18% (4.5 million), CBS by 18% (4.5 million) and NBC 43% (3.7 million).

· ABC built its overall Monday audience year over year for the 5th consecutive week, outperforming the year-ago Labor Day with an all-original schedule by 10% (4.8 million on 9/6/10).

"Bachelor Pad" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

Monday's most-watched TV show, ABC's "Bachelor Pad" topped its 8:00-10:00 p.m. time period by a solid margin, pulling in 31% more viewers than Fox (5.9 million vs. 4.5 million). In fact the ABC unscripted series ranked No. 1 in its slot for the 2nd week in a row with Total Viewers and key Women (W18-49/W25-54).

· "Bachelor Pad" built its overall audience year to year for the 5th week in a row, gaining 4% over its performance on the same night last year (5.7 million).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Building week to week in the 10 o'clock hour among Total Viewers (+8% - 4.3 million vs. 4.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 0.9/2 vs. 0.8/2), ABC's "Castle" equaled its highest rating since its season finale in May with young adults.

· For the 4th time in as many telecasts, ABC's repeat "Castle" substantially improved its hour year to year among Total Viewers (+43% - 4.3 million vs. 3.0 million), outdrawing original programming on the year-ago evening ("Dating in the Dark").

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 42% currently, from 38% 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), 9/5/11.