ABC Tops Halloween Eve; #1 in Viewers for the 7th Straight Monday

With its Halloween lineup, featuring ABC's debut of Scared Shrekless (previously airing on NBC), Dancing and Castle, ABC registered as Monday's most-watched TV network, outdrawing CBS all-original lineup by 2.6 million viewers (HIMYM/2 Broke Girls/Two and a Half Men/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0), Fox originals by 7.4 million viewers (Terra Nova/House) and NBC's first-run programming by 9.6 million viewers (The Sing Off/Rock Center with Brian Williams). In addition, ABC defeated Fox by 17% in Adults 18-49 and once again more than doubled NBC's young adult performance on the evening (+125%).

· ABC stood as Monday's #1 network with Total Viewers for the 7th straight week this season.

TV Usage Declines on Halloween: Versus the prior Monday, overall TV usage levels on Halloween evening declined by -8% in Adults 18-49 and by an even steeper -14% in Women 18-34.

Please Note: ABC was pre-empted in Kansas City (DMA #31 - accounting for less than 1% of US coverage) for local coverage of ESPN's Monday Night Football game (Chargers-Chiefs), so the Fast Affiliate numbers are subject to change once the National ratings are issued this afternoon.

At 8pm, ABC's premiere broadcast of Scared Shrekless drew substantially more viewers than the first half-hours of Fox's original Terra Nova (+2.3 million) and NBC's original The Sing Off (+3.4 million), while defeating the NBC singing competition by a margin of 21% in Adults 18-49. The animated Halloween special ranked #1 in its slot with Kids 2-11.

· Moving from NBC last year to ABC this year, Scared Shrekless was up over its most-recent rebroadcast on NBC by enormous margins in Total Viewers (+129%) and Adults 18-49 (+55%). In addition, the encore special rose over its original premiere telecast on NBC by 5% in Total Viewers.

Jumping over its lead-in and gaining steadily throughout its shortened broadcast (90-min vs. 2-hours), Dancing with the Stars made ABC the most-watched net in its time period for the 7th week in a row. ABC's broad-appealing dance performance show, finished as the #2 broadcast slot in Adults 18-49, across all key Women and with Teens 12-17, while ranking #1 with Kids 2-11.

· ABC's DWTS stood as Monday's most-watched TV show overall for the 4th straight week.

For the 7th time in as many telecasts this season, ABC's Castle finished as the most-watched scripted program during Monday's 10 o'clock hour. In addition, the ABC drama ranked #1 against its CBS and NBC time-period competition among key Adults and Women. ABC's Castle towered over NBC's series debut of Rock Center with Brian Williams, more than tripling the newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+215%) and nearly tripling its delivery in Adults 18-49 (+190%).

· Castle qualified as Monday's definitive most-watched drama, outdrawing CBS' Hawaii Five-0 by a best-of-season 2.6 million viewers, Fox's House by 6.4 million viewers and Fox's Terra Nova by 6.5 million viewers.

· In viewers and young adults, Castle posted best-since-premiere numbers 6 weeks ago - since 9/19/11.

· ABC's Castle was up over its year-ago telecast with viewers (+14%) and young adults (+7%), building its overall audience year to year for the 5th time in 7 weeks.

Quick Take for Monday, October 31, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is the No. 1 Net on Monday in Total Viewers for the 7th Week in a Row

ABC Debut of "Scared Shrekless" Outdraws Fox's "Terra Nova" by 2.3 Million Viewers and NBC's "The Sing Off" by 3.4 Million Viewers in the Time Period

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" is Monday's Most-Watched Telecast For the 4th Consecutive Week

Hitting Best-Since-Premiere Numbers, ABC's "Castle" Stands as Monday's Most-Watched Scripted Series at 10pm for the 7th Week Running, Topping CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" by a Season-Best 2.6 Million Viewers

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

With its Halloween lineup, featuring ABC's debut of "Scared Shrekless" (previously airing on NBC), "Dancing" and "Castle," ABC registered as Monday's most-watched TV network (13.9 million), outdrawing CBS all-original lineup by 2.6 million viewers (11.3 million - "HIMYM"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0"), Fox originals by 7.4 million viewers (6.5 million - "Terra Nova"/"House") and NBC's first-run programming by 9.6 million viewers (4.3 million - "The Sing Off"/"Rock Center with Brian Williams"). In addition, ABC defeated Fox by 17% in Adults 18-49 and once again more than doubled NBC's young adult performance on the evening (+125% - 2.7/7 vs. 1.2/3).

· ABC stood as Monday's No. 1 network with Total Viewers for the 7th straight week this season.

TV Usage Declines on Halloween: Versus the prior Monday, overall TV usage levels on Halloween evening declined by -8% in Adults 18-49 and by an even steeper -14% in Women 18-34.

Please Note: ABC was pre-empted in Kansas City (DMA #31 - accounting for less than 1% of US coverage) for local coverage of ESPN's Monday Night Football game (Chargers-Chiefs), so the Fast Affiliate numbers are subject to change once the National ratings are issued this afternoon.

"Scared Shrekless" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's premiere broadcast of "Scared Shrekless" (8.7 million) drew substantially more viewers than the first half-hours of Fox's original "Terra Nova" (+2.3 million - 6.4 million) and NBC's original "The Sing Off" (+3.4 million - 5.3 million), while defeating the NBC singing competition by a margin of 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6 vs. 1.4/5). The animated Halloween special ranked No. 1 in its slot with Kids 2-11.

· Moving from NBC last year to ABC this year, "Scared Shrekless" was up over its most-recent rebroadcast on NBC by enormous margins in Total Viewers (+129% - 8.7 million vs. 3.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+55% - 1.7/6 vs. 1.1/4). In addition, the encore special rose over its original premiere telecast on NBC by 5% in Total Viewers (8.3 million on 10/28/10).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:30-10:00 p.m.)

Jumping over its lead-in and gaining steadily throughout its shortened broadcast (90-min vs. 2-hours), "Dancing with the Stars" (16.3 million) made ABC the most-watched net in its time period for the 7th week in a row. ABC's broad-appealing dance performance show, finished as the No. 2 broadcast in the slot in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7), across all key Women and with Teens 12-17, while ranking No. 1 with Kids 2-11.

· ABC's "DWTS" stood as Monday's most-watched TV show overall for the 4th straight week.

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

For the 7th time in as many telecasts this season, ABC's "Castle" finished as the most-watched scripted program during Monday's 10 o'clock hour. In addition, the ABC drama ranked No. 1 against its CBS and NBC time-period competition among key Adults and Women. ABC's "Castle" towered over NBC's series debut of "Rock Center with Brian Williams," more than tripling the newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+215% - 12.9 million vs. 4.1 million) and nearly tripling its delivery in Adults 18-49 (+190% - 2.9/7 vs. 1.0/3).

· "Castle" qualified as Monday's definitive most-watched drama, outdrawing CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" by a best-of-season 2.6 million viewers (10.3 million), Fox's "House" by 6.4 million viewers (6.5 million) and Fox's "Terra Nova" by 6.5 million viewers (6.4 million).

· In viewers and young adults, "Castle" posted best-since-premiere numbers 6 weeks ago - since 9/19/11.

· ABC's "Castle" was up over its year-ago telecast (11.3 million and 2.7/7 on 11/1/10) with viewers (+14%) and young adults (+7%), building its overall audience year to year for the 5th time in 7 weeks.

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), 10/31/11.