ABC's Special "20/20" Draws the Net's 2nd Biggest Audience in the Slot in 10 months

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

During the 8 o'clock hour, A Special Edition of 20/20 - Regis Philbin: The Morning Maestro with Katie Couric pulled in a strong 8.0 million viewers on average, drawing ABC's biggest audience in the hour in 8 weeks (since 9/22/11) and its 2nd largest viewer count in 10 months - since 1/20/11. On the program, which gained viewers (+8%) and young adults (+14%) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour, the undisputed king of morning television welcomed Katie Couric and ABC News cameras to capture a side of Regis Philbin rarely seen.

· The ABC newsmagazine boosted the Net's delivery in the hour by 1.8 million viewers and by 7% in Adults 18-49, over its averages in the time period with original programming this season.

Gaining sharply on its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9pm (+67%) and building from its first to second hour (+8%), ABC's 2-hour fall finale of Private Practice moved up to #1 from 10-11pm, beating CBS' Mentalist (+4%) and NBC's Prime Suspect (+136%). In addition, Private Practice finished as the #1 drama in Thursday's 10pm hour for the 8th straight week with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Private Practice generated the series' 2nd-most-watched telecast since its September season premiere (on 9/29/11).