Primetime Ratings Report For the week of October 17, 2011 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

Increasing in Viewers and Young Adults for the 2nd Straight Week, ABC Generates its Strongest Numbers Since Season-Premiere Week

ABC's "Modern Family" Emerges as the Week's No. 1 TV Show Overall in Adults 18-49, and ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Finishes as TV's No. 1 Drama

For the 5th Straight Week, ABC is Up in the 10pm Hour Year Over Year as A Lead-in to its Affiliates' Late-Local News, the Only Net to Post Increases

ABC is Monday's No. 1 Net in Total Viewers for the 5th Straight Week This Season

Drawing its Biggest Audience Since its Premiere, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Finishes as Monday's Most-Watched TV Program for the 2nd Consecutive Week

Rising Week to Week and Year to Year, ABC's "Castle" is Monday's Top Drama

ABC's "Last Man Standing" Shows Strong Retention of its Big Week-Earlier Debut

Exhibiting Solid Retention of its "Last Man Standing" Lead-in, the Debut of ABC's "Man Up!" Improves its Slot Over the Year-Ago Night Across Key Demos

ABC's "Body of Proof" Grows Week to Week with Viewers and Young Adults

ABC's "The Middle" Tops its Year-Ago Telecast for the 5th Week Running

Building on its Adult 18-49 Lead-in for the New Series' 4th Straight Airing, "Suburgatory" Generates Substantial Time Period Improvement for ABC

"Modern Family" Beats Out Game 1 of the World Series for the 2nd Year in a Row

ABC's "Happy Endings" Scores Series Highs in Key Men Against the World Series

"Revenge" Boosts Wednesday's 10pm Hour for ABC by Huge Margins Year to Year

"Grey's" and "Private Practice" Mark Best-Since-Premiere Results in Key Demos

Friday's No. 1 TV Show, "20/20" Pulls its Top Adult 18-49 Rating Since Jan 2010

Posting a Season-High in Adults 18-49, ABC Equals its Top Sunday in Over 7 Months

More than Doubling its Lead-in to Open as TV's No. 1 New Drama in Adults 18-49, "Once Upon a Time" Marks ABC's Top Series Rating in its Slot in Nearly 3-1/2 Years

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Produces its 2nd-Strongest Numbers This Season

WEEK No. 5:

During the week of October 17, 2011, ABC finished No. 2 in Adults 18-34 (1.7/5) and ranked No. 1 with Women 18-49 (3.1/8) for the 2nd week in a row.

· For the 5th consecutive week this season, ABC generated increasing year-over-year returns during the 10 o'clock hour. On Monday-Friday from 10:00-11:00 p.m. as a lead-in to affiliates' late-local news, ABC produced double-digit percentage gains over the year-ago week with Total Viewers (+18% - 8.5 million vs. 7.2 million), Adults 18-49 (+15% - 2.3/6 vs. 2.0/6) and Adults 25-54 (+12% - 2.9/7 vs. 2.6/7). ABC was the only net to demonstrate an increase in the hour on any of the three Nielsen measures.

· Building its primetime numbers for the 2nd week running with viewers and young adults, ABC drew its largest audience and equaled its top Adult 18-49 rating in 4 weeks - since season-premiere week - w/o 9/19/11.

Weekly Program Rankings: ABC aired 6 of the week's Top 20 non-sports programs in Adults 18-49, and for the first time ever "Modern Family" emerged as the No. 1 TV show overall in the key young adult sales demo: "Modern Family" - No. 1, "Once Upon a Time" - No. 6 (TV's No. 1 drama), "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 12, "DWTS" - No. 16, while "Last Man Standing" and "Suburgatory" tied at No. 18. The Net claimed 4 of the week's Top 15 most-watched TV shows overall, delivering the Top 2 unscripted telecasts with "Dancing" and the most-watched new show with "Once Upon a Time:" "DWTS" - No. 2, "DWTS: The Results" - No. 10, "Modern Family" - No. 12 and "Once Upon a Time" - No. 13.

Monday

Featuring "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC once again qualified as Monday's most-watched TV network (15.6 million), topping CBS by a season-best 3.9 million viewers (11.7 million - "HIMYM"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0"), Fox by 7.3 million viewers (8.3 million - "Terra Nova"/"House") and NBC by 11.8 million viewers (3.8 million - "The Sing Off"/"Prime Suspect"). Among Adults 18-49, ABC (3.1/8) beat out Fox's lineup by 3% (3.0/7) and NBC's by 138% (1.3/3). ABC stood as Monday's No. 1 net in Total Viewers for the 5th week in a row.

· ABC grew week to week in viewers (+7% - 15.6 million vs. 14.6 million) and young adults (+15% - 3.1/8 vs. 2.7/7), generating its largest audience on the night since season-premiere Monday (on 9/19/11).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)

Picking up audience throughout its telecast against CBS' "Two and a Half Men"-led comedy block, "Dancing with the Stars" made ABC (17.8 million) the top draw overall in its time slot for the 5th straight week, while finishing No. 2 in Adults 18-49 (3.3/8) with a 10% advantage over Fox's dramas (3.0/7) and doubling NBC's "The Sing Off" (+106% - 1.6/4). ABC's "Dancing" stood as Monday's most-watched TV show for the 2nd week in a row.

Building its viewer count for the 2nd week in a row (+6%) and gaining week to week with Adults 18-49 (+10%), "DWTS" generated its most-watched telecast in 4 weeks - since its season opener.

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

For the 5th week running this season, ABC's "Castle" registered as the most-watched scripted show in Monday's 10 o'clock hour. In addition, ABC's "Castle" (11.2 million) was the evening's most-watched drama telecast overall, pacing ahead of CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" (11.1 million), Fox's "House" (8.3 million) and Fox's "Terra Nova" (8.3 million).

· Building week to week in Total Viewers (+9% - 11.1 million vs. 10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+19% - 2.5/6 vs. 2.1/5), "Castle" marked its strongest results in 3 weeks - since 9/26/11.

· "Castle" rose over its year-ago telecast, increasing its overall audience year to year for the 4th time in 5 tries this season.

Tuesday

Featuring "Last Man Standing," "Man Up!," "DWTS: The Results" and "Body of Proof," ABC (10.7 million) finished as the 2nd-most-watched TV network overall to CBS on Tuesday, topping Fox by 3% (a special 2-hour "The X Factor" = 10.4 million) and more than doubling NBC's audience on the evening (+110% - 2-hour "The Biggest Loser 12"/"Parenthood" = 5.1 million). In addition among Adults 18-49, ABC outdelivered NBC by 26% (2.4/6 vs. 1.9/5).

· ABC hit its 2nd-highest-rated Tuesday this season among Adults 18-49 (tie) and Adults 18-34.

"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Exhibiting strong retention of its premiere delivery in the half-hour the prior week at 8:00 p.m. against "NCIS" and "X Factor," ABC's "Last Man Standing" ranked No. 2 in its slot with Total Viewers and Adults 18-34, while running No. 1 with hard-to-reach Men 18-34. Versus its big series debut performance in the half-hour the prior week, "Last Man Standing" retained 91% of its premiere Adult 18-49 audience, 96% in Adults 18-34 and actually grew +5% with Men 18-34.

· "Last Man Standing" boosted its slot for ABC by double-digit percentages over the same night last year with Total Viewers (+41% - 10.3 million vs. 7.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+41% - 3.1/9 vs. 2.2/7).

"Man Up!" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:30 p.m. against stiff competition from the second half-hours of CBS' top-rated "NCIS" and Fox's "The X Factor," the series debut of ABC's "Man Up!" defeated NBC's time-period established "The Biggest Loser" by wide margins in Total Viewers (+53% - 7.8 million vs. 5.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+26% - 2.4/6 vs. 1.9/5). "Man Up!" showed solid retention of its "Last Man Standing" lead-in among key young adult demos: W18-49 (80%), M18-49 (81%) and A18-34 (83%).

· "Man Up!" improved its half-hour year to year for ABC across key demos: Total Viewers (+3%), Adults 18-49 (+4%), Adults 18-34 (+19%) and Men 18-34 (+21%).

"Dancing with the Stars: The Results" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: The Results" (13.8 million) ran as the 2nd-most-watched TV show in its hour, outpacing Fox's "X Factor" by 3.3 million viewers (10.5 million) and NBC's "The Biggest Loser" by 8.5 million viewers (5.3 million). The ABC dancing results show also held the No. 2 position in the hour among key Women (W18-34/W18-49) and beat out the second hour of NBC's "Biggest Loser" by 30% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/6 vs. 2.0/5). Reality television star and fashion expert Carson Kressley was the fifth celebrity contestant to be eliminated from the ABC dance competition this season.

"Body of Proof" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

For the 5th week in a row this season, ABC's "Body of Proof" (9.3 million) ranked as the 2nd-most-watched TV show overall in Tuesday's 10 o'clock hour, beating NBC's "Parenthood" (5.0 million) by a margin of 4.3 million viewers.

· "Body of Proof" was up over the prior week in viewers (+3% - 9.3 million vs. 9.0 million) and young adults (+6% - 1.9/5 vs. 1.8/5).

Continuing to deliver much stronger lead-in retention for ABC in the hour year over year, "Body of Proof" grew its time period over the year-ago evening by 1.4 million viewers and by 6% in Adults 18-49 ("Detroit 1-8-7" = 7.9 million and 1.8/5).

Wednesday

Opposite the 2011 World Series Game 1 on Fox, ABC finished No. 2 on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49 (3.3/9-tie), while ranking No. 1 across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). For the 4th straight week this season, as "Modern Family" outdelivered the World Series, ABC aired Wednesday's No. 1 TV show. In fact it was the 2nd year in a row for the ABC hit comedy to beat out Game 1 of the World Series in the key young adult sales demo.

· The Net continued to produce improved year-over-year returns on the evening, jumping over the year-ago Wednesday (10/20/10) in viewers (+23% - 9.0 million vs. 7.3 million) and young adults (+32% - 3.3/9 vs. 2.5/7) for the 5th consecutive week this season.

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

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" dominated its comedy competition in the half-hour, defeating NBC's "Up All Night" by 3.5 million viewers (9.1 million vs. 5.6 million) and by 43% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9 vs. 2.1/6). In addition, "The Middle" won its half-hour over the World Series with Women 18-49, while qualifying as the No. 2 regular program in its slot with Adults 18-34 and Men 18-34. The ABC comedy once again registered as the time slot's top-rated broadcast series with Teens 12-17.

· Opposite World Series competition, "The Middle" grew week to week with Viewers, Adults 18-49 (3rd straight week), Adults 25-54, Women 18-49 (season high) and Women 25-54 (season high).

· Rising over its year-ago performance for the 5th straight telecast this season, "The Middle" grew over the same night last year by 7% in viewers and 15% in young adults (8.5 million and 2.6/8).

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

Increasing from its Adult 18-49 lead-in for the 4th time in as many telecasts (+3%) at 8:30 p.m., ABC's "Suburgatory" topped the World Series in the half-hour with key Women (W18-49/W25-54) and beat its CBS and NBC competition with Adults 18-34.

· Despite facing the Fall Classic, "Suburgatory" held 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience week to week, while hitting series highs across all key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

· "Suburgatory" once again generated substantial improvement for the Net over the year-ago time period occupant ("Better with You") in viewers (+29% - 8.8 million vs. 6.8 million) and young adults (+48% - 3.1/8 vs. 2.1/6).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. to take first place in its slot with Adults 18-49 over the World Series (+36% - 4.2/11) and CBS' "Criminal Minds" (+50% - 3.8/10), ABC's "Modern Family" (5.7/14) registered as the evening's No. 1 TV program for the 5th week running this season. In fact the ABC comedy won its slot over the World Series across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).

· Up year to year for the 5th consecutive telecast this season, "Modern Family" improved over its year-ago telecast by 8% in viewers (13.0 million vs. 12.0 million) and by 21% with young adults (5.7/14 vs. 4.7/13).

"Happy Endings" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)

In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's sophomore "Happy Endings" stood as the No. 1 series in its slot for the 3rd week running in Adults 18-34 (2.6/7) and Women 18-34 (3.0/8). The ABC comedy was also the highest-rated series in its time period with hard-to-reach Men 18-34 (2.1/6).

· ABC's "Happy Endings" hit series highs across all key Men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

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

Once again gaining on its Total Viewer lead-in (+1.1 million - 7.9 million vs. 6.8 million) during the 10 o'clock hour against established dramas on both CBS ("CSI") and NBC ("L&O: SVU"), ABC's freshman drama "Revenge" ran neck-and-neck with "CSI" among Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth and tied in share - 2.5/7 vs. 2.6/7) and easily beat out "Law & Order: SVU" (+14% - 2.2/6). In addition, "Revenge was the No. 1 series in the hour for its 5th consecutive airing with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, while winning its hour outright over the World Series with Women 25-54.

· For the new series' 5th straight telecast, "Revenge" produced enormous time-period improvement for ABC, surging over the year-ago night ("The Whole Truth" = 4.5 million and 1.3/4) in viewers (+78%) and young adults (+92%). In fact, "Revenge" stands as ABC's most-watched series in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour in more than 4 years - since "Lost" during the 2006-07 TV Season.

Thursday

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Tripling its lead-in (+200%) opposite Fox's 2011 World Series Game 2, ABC self-starter "Grey's Anatomy" stood as Thursday's No. 1 drama in Adults 18-49 for the 5th week running this season. Leading its original non-sports competition in the 9 o'clock hour by wide margins, ABC's "Grey's" (3.6/9) beat out CBS' "Person of Interest" by 33% (2.7/7). In addition, the ABC drama dominated its time slot over the World Series across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). "Grey's" qualified as Thursday's No. 1 TV show overall with Women 18-49 for the 4th time in 5 weeks this season.

· Despite facing the World Series, "Grey's" held 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience week to week, while growing among Adults 25-54 to post best-since-premiere number. In addition, the ABC drama increased over the prior week across all key Men: M18-34 (+8%), M18-49 (+13%) and M25-54 (+5%).

"Private Practice" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Private Practice" ran neck-and-neck with "The Mentalist" for the drama lead in the 10 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 2.5/7). Beating "The Mentalist," "Private Practice" registered as the No. 1 drama in the hour for the 4th straight week with Adults 18-34 and among key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49).

· Up against the Fall Classic, "Private Practice" marked its highest ratings since its season opener with Adults 25-54 and key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49).

Friday

With the premiere of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" in its new Friday 8:00-9:00 p.m. time period, followed by a second episode of "Home Edition" leading into "20/20," ABC ranked No. 1 on Friday in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5-tie), equaling a 10-month high on the night in the key young adult sales demo - best since 12/31/10.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9pm on its new night, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" opened as the 2nd-most-watched TV show (5.1 million), outdrawing its established unscripted competition in the hour by 1.6 million viewers (Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" = 3.5 million).

· "Home Edition" drew ABC's biggest audience in the hour since April - since 4/15/11.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition-9P" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building sharply on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+42%), a second episode of "Home Edition" (1.7/5) ran neck-and-neck for No. 1 with CBS' "CSI: NY" in the hour among Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point of the lead). Drawing a younger audience, ABC's "Home Edition" beat out "CSI: NY" by 44% with Adults 18-34 (1.3/5 vs. 0.9/3).

· "Home Edition" marked ABC's highest Adult 18-49 rating in the hour in 9 months, equaling the net's top number since last November - since 11/12/10.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "20/20" jumped over its lead-in to rank No. 1 in its time period with Adults 18-49 (2.0/6) and Adults 25-54 (2.6/7-tie), standing as Friday's highest-rated TV show in the key young adult sales demo. "20/20" featured Chris Cuomo's exclusive interview with Bernie Madoff's daughter-in-law, Stephanie Madoff Mack, about the largest financial scandal in American history, plus Barbara Walters' exclusive sit-down interview with Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon discussing intimate details of their struggle to conceive, Mariah's high-risk pregnancy, parenthood and the unique dynamic of their marriage.

· Posting its top results in well over 1-1/2 years, ABC's "20/20" drew its biggest audience (7.6 million) on the night since February 2010 and tied its highest Adult 18-49 rating since January 2010 - since 2/5/10 and 1/8/10, respectively.

Sunday

Opposite big sports competition from Fox's World Series Game 4 and NBC's "Sunday Night Football," ABC's Adult 18-49 audience surged by 30% week to week (2.6/6 vs. 2.0/5), hitting a season high and equaling its top-rated Sunday in more than 7 months - since 3/6/11.

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

During the 7:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" drew its 2nd-largest audience (6.6 million) of the season and achieved season highs with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+167%) and gaining audience throughout its premiere against the World Series and Sunday Night Football, ABC's series debut of "Once Upon a Time" opened with an average audience of 12.9 million viewers and a 4.0 rating, 10 share among Adults 18-49, standing as Sunday's No. 1 non-sports television program.

· ABC's "Once Upon a Time" opened as TV's No. 1 drama debut this season in Adults 18-49 and as the top-rated in nearly 2 years - since 11/3/09. In fact, ABC claims the season's Top 2 drama debuts with "Once Upon a Time" and "Revenge," respectively.

· "Once Upon a Time" drew ABC's biggest audience in the time period with regular programming in more than 3-1/2 years and its top Adult 18-49 number in nearly 3-1/2 years - since 3/30/08 and 5/11/08, respectively.

· In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Once Upon a Time" stands as Sunday's biggest non-NFL-led drama debut in 5 years - since ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" on 9/24/06.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Gaining 11% week to week, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (3.0/7) defeated CBS' "The Good Wife" (2.0/5) by a best-yet 50% in Adults 18-49, dominating the CBS drama for the 5th straight telecast this season. "Housewives" stood as Sunday's No. 2 broadcast series with young adults, behind only "Once Upon a Time."

· Marking its 2nd-highest-numbers this season, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" rose by double-digit percentages over the prior week in Total Viewers (+11% - 9.2 million vs. 8.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 3.0/7 vs. 2.7/6).

"Pan Am" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Pan Am" qualified as the No. 1 drama with Adults 18-34 (1.4/4) and Women 18-34 (1.9/5), registering as the hour's top-drama for the 5th week in a row on the latter measure.

· The new ABC drama retained 100% of it Adult 18-49 audience week to week, while growing by 8% in Adults 18-34 and by 6% in Women 18-34.

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 10/17/11.