ABC's "CMA Christmas" Surges Year to Year/Beats CBS' Grammy Nom Concert

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

With its annual rebroadcast of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and CMA Country Christmas, ABC earned second place on Thursday night with viewers and young adults, while finishing #1 with Kids 2-11.

· The Net drew its 2nd-largest audience on the night this season, posting its best number since season-premiere Thursday - since 9/22/11.

From 8-9pm, ABC's annual rebroadcast of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town nearly doubled the audience of NBC's original comedies (Community/Parks and Recreation) in the hour and led by 22% in Adults 18-49. The show won its hour by a wide margin with Kids 2-11, beating out Fox's The X Factor Results Show by 38% to stand as the #1 broadcast television program of the night.

· Boosting the slot week to week in viewers (+22%) and young adults (+22%), Santa Claus is Comin' to Town tallied ABC's 2nd-highest Adult 18-49 number in the hour this season.

From 9-11pm, ABC's CMA Country Christmas stood as the most-watched TV program overall during its 2-hour time period. In addition among Adults 18-49, ABC beat out NBC's original programming (The Office/Whitney/Prime Suspect) by 11% from 9-11pm.

· The Christmas special, filled with music and memories from your favorite country stars, jumped over last year's broadcast by 23% in Total Viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49.

· ABC's CMA Country Christmas concert topped CBS' Grammy Nominations Concert from the previous night (on Wednesday,11/30) by 3.3 million viewers and by 11% with young adults.

Quick Take for Thursday, December 1, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

With "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and "CMA Country Christmas," ABC Generates its 2nd-Most-Watched Thursday Evening of the Season

ABC's Repeat "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" Beats NBC's Original Comedies At 8pm and Posts the Net's 2nd-Best Young Adult Number in the Hour This Season

Finishing as the Most-Watched Show in its Slot, ABC's "CMA Country Christmas" Jumps Year to Year by 23% Among Total Viewers and by 50% Among Adults 18-49

ABC's "CMA Country Christmas" Concert Outperforms CBS' "Grammy Nominations Concert" from the Previous Night by Strong Margins in Viewers and Young Adults

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

With its annual rebroadcast of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and "CMA Country Christmas," ABC earned second place on Thursday night with viewers (8.4 million) and young adults (2.1/6) to Fox's original lineup ("X Factor Results Show"/"Bones"), while finishing No. 1 with Kids 2-11 (1.6/7).

· The Net drew its 2nd-largest audience on the night this season, posting its best number since season-premiere Thursday - since 9/22/11.

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's repeat airing of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (7.2 million and 2.2/6) nearly doubled the audience of NBC's original comedies ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation" = 3.8 million and 1.8/5) in the hour and led by 22% in Adults 18-49. The animated Christmas special won its hour by a wide margin with Kids 2-11, beating out Fox's "The X Factor Results Show" by 38% (2.9/9 vs. 2.1/7) to stand as the No. 1 broadcast television program of the night.

· Boosting the slot week to week in viewers (+22%) and young adults (+22%), "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" tallied ABC's 2nd-highest Adult 18-49 number in the hour this season.

"CMA Country Christmas" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "CMA Country Christmas" (9.0 million) stood as the most-watched TV program overall during its 2-hour time period. In addition from 9:00-11:00 p.m. among Adults 18-49, ABC beat out NBC's original programming ("The Office"/"Whitney"/"Prime Suspect") by 11% (2.1/5 vs. 1.9/5).

· The ABC Christmas special, filled with music and memories from your favorite country stars, jumped over last year's broadcast by 23% in Total Viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (7.3 million and 1.4/4 on 11/29/10).

· ABC's "CMA Country Christmas" concert topped CBS' "Grammy Nominations Concert" from the previous night (5.7 million and 1.9/5 on 11/30/11, from 10:00-11:00 p.m.) by 3.3 million viewers and by 11% with young adults.

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), 11/17/11.