ABC's "20/20" with Diane Sawyer's Gabrielle Giffords Interview Scores Big Numbers

Some early info on ABC's Monday night, ahead of the regular press release.

With Dancing and A Special Edition of 20/20 featuring Diane Sawyer's exclusive interview with Gabrielle Giffords, ABC finished as Monday's most-watched television network, topping CBS by a season-best 4.8 million viewers (HIMYM/2 Broke Girls/Two and a Half Men/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0), Fox by 9.9 million viewers (Terra Nova/House) and NBC by 12.1 million viewers (The Sing Off/Rock Center with Brian Williams). ABC qualified as Monday's #1 network in Total Viewers for the 9th time in as many weeks this season. In addition among Adults 18-49, ABC continued to beat out Fox by a strong margin on Monday (+33%) and once again to more than double NBC's young adult delivery on the night (+129%).

· Growing for the 2nd week in a row, ABC drew best-since-premiere numbers with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tie) - since 9/19/11. In addition, the Net was up over the year-ago Monday by 1.5 million viewers.

Please Note: ABC was pre-empted in Milwaukee and Green Bay (DMAs #34 and #69 - accounting for just over 1% of US coverage) for local coverage of ESPN's Monday Night Football game (Packers-Vikings), so the Fast Affiliate numbers are subject to change once the National ratings are issued this afternoon.

Gaining audience from its first to second hour, the semifinals of Dancing with the Stars made ABC the most-watched network in its time period for the 9th week running. ABC's broad-skewing dance performance show, registered as the #2 broadcast program its time slot across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), while running #1 with Women 25-54 and Kids 2-11. ABC's Dancing qualified as Monday's most-watched TV show overall for its 6th straight telecast.

· Rising for the 2nd week in a row, DWTS drew its biggest audience since its season premiere broadcast 8 weeks ago (on 9/19/11).

In the 10 o'clock hour, A Special Edition of 20/20 with Diane Sawyer qualified as the most-watched TV show overall and ranked #1 across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). 20/20 featured Diane Sawyer's exclusive first interview with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. ABC's 20/20 crushed NBC's competing Rock Center with Brian Williams in the hour, nearly tripling the NBC newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+198%) and more than doubling its Adult 18-49 delivery (+115%). Rock Center featured Bob Costas' exclusive interview with former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.

· In Total Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), the special edition of 20/20 stood as ABC's biggest newsmagazine telecast in over 4 months - since 7/10/11 with Diane Sawyer's exclusive Jaycee Dugard interview. Versus Diane Sawyer's recent ABC News Special - Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words in September, the Gabrielle Giffords interview was up by wide margins in Total Viewers (+60%), Adults 18-49 (+87%) and Adults 25-54 (+86%).

AMERICA WATCHED: 13.4 MILLION TUNED IN TO "GABBY AND MARK: COURAGE AND HOPE" WITH DIANE SAWYER REPORTING

"Gabby and Mark: Courage and Hope" Ranks as #1 Program at 10:00 PM

Diane Sawyer's "20/20" Special Nearly Triples the Audience of NBC's "Rock Center"

The Special Edition of "20/20" with Diane Sawyer reporting "Gabby and Mark: Courage and Hope" averaged 13.4 million Total Viewers and a 3.9 rating/9 share among Adults 25-54 and 2.8 rating/7 share among Adults 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In the 10 o'clock hour, a Special Edition of "20/20" with Diane Sawyer ranked as the most-watched TV show overall and ranked #1 across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). "20/20" featured Diane Sawyer's exclusive first interview with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The Special Edition of "20/20" with Diane Sawyer reporting dominated NBC's competing "Rock Center with Brian Williams" in the hour, nearly tripling the NBC newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+198%) and more than doubling its Adult 18-49 delivery (+115%). "Rock Center" featured Bob Costas' exclusive interview with former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.

Among both Total Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), the special edition of "20/20" stood as ABC's biggest newsmagazine telecast in over 4 months - since 7/10/11 with Diane Sawyer's exclusive Jaycee Dugard interview.

As the special edition of "20/20" aired Monday night on the ABC Television Network, "Gabby Giffords" quickly became a hot topic online, trending on Twitter in the U.S. and worldwide at various times throughout the evening. In addition, on Wednesday morning "Gabby Giffords" was the #3 Google search trend in the U.S., "Mark Kelly" was #11, "Gabrielle Giffords" came in at #16.

David Sloan and Eric Avram are the executive producers of "Gabby and Mark: Courage and Hope."

Quick Take for Monday, November 14, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Draws Best-Since-Premiere Numbers on Monday in Viewers and Young Adults and Stands as the Night's Most-Watched Net for the 9th Week in a Row

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Attracts Largest Audience Since Premiere and Ranks as Monday's No. 1 Program in Total Viewers for the 6th Consecutive Week

ABC's "20/20," Featuring Diane Sawyer's Exclusive Interview with Gabrielle Giffords Leads the 10 o'clock Hour in Total Viewers and Across All Key Women

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

With "Dancing" and "A Special Edition of 20/20" featuring Diane Sawyer's exclusive interview with Gabrielle Giffords, ABC (16.8 million) finished as Monday's most-watched television network, topping CBS by a season-best 4.8 million viewers (12.0 million - "HIMYM"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0"), Fox by 9.9 million viewers (6.9 million - "Terra Nova"/"House") and NBC by 12.1 million viewers (4.7 million - "The Sing Off"/"Rock Center with Brian Williams"). ABC qualified as Monday's No. 1 network in Total Viewers for the 9th time in as many weeks this season. In addition among Adults 18-49 (3.2/8), ABC continued to beat out Fox by a strong margin on Monday (+33% - 2.4/6) and once again more than doubled NBC's young adult delivery on the night (+129% - 1.4/4).

· Growing for the 2nd week in a row, ABC drew best-since-premiere numbers with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tie) - since 9/19/11. In addition, the Net was up over the year-ago Monday by 1.5 million viewers (15.3 million on 11/15/10).

Please Note: ABC was pre-empted in Milwaukee and Green Bay (DMAs #34 and #69 - accounting for just over 1% of US coverage) for local coverage of ESPN's Monday Night Football game (Packers-Vikings), so the Fast Affiliate numbers are subject to change once the National ratings are issued this afternoon.

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

Gaining audience from its first to second hour, the semifinals of "Dancing with the Stars" (18.5 million) made ABC the most-watched network in its time period for the 9th week running. ABC's broad-skewing dance performance show registered as the No. 2 broadcast program its time slot across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), while running No. 1 with Women 25-54 and Kids 2-11. ABC's "Dancing" qualified as Monday's most-watched TV show overall for its 6th straight telecast.

· Rising for the 2nd week in a row, "DWTS" drew its biggest audience since its season premiere broadcast 8 weeks ago (on 9/19/11).

"A Special Edition of 20/20 with Diane Sawyer" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the 10 o'clock hour, "A Special Edition of 20/20 with Diane Sawyer" qualified as the most-watched TV show overall (13.4 million) and ranked No. 1 across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). "20/20" featured Diane Sawyer's exclusive first interview with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. ABC's "20/20" crushed NBC's competing "Rock Center with Brian Williams" in the hour, nearly tripling the NBC newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+198% - 13.4 million vs. 4.5 million) and more than doubling its Adult 18-49 delivery (+115% - 2.8/7 vs. 1.3/3). "Rock Center" featured Bob Costas' exclusive interview with former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.

· In Total Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), the special edition of "20/20" stood as ABC's biggest newsmagazine telecast in over 4 months - since 7/10/11 with Diane Sawyer's exclusive Jaycee Dugard interview. Versus Diane Sawyer's recent "ABC News Special - Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words" in September, the Gabrielle Giffords interview was up by wide margins in Total Viewers (+60%), Adults 18-49 (+87%) and Adults 25-54 (+86%).

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 43% 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), 11/14/11.