ABC's Repeat Comedy Line-up Dominates Fox's Comedy Encores

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

With repeat comedies from 8-10pm (The Middle/Suburgatory/Modern Family/Happy Endings) and a replay of Revenge at 10pm, ABC beat NBC by 50% and Fox's encore comedy line-up (from 8-10pm) by 20% on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49. ABC also finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on the evening.

· At 8pm, ABC's replay of The Middle dominated its repeat comedy competition in the half-hour among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, leading NBC's Up All Night by 1.9 million viewers and 30% in young adults and Fox's Raising Hope by 2.8 million viewers and 44% in young adults.

· ABC's encore Suburgatory outperformed repeats of both NBC's Whitney and Fox's Raising Hope by 75% each with Adults 18-49 in the 8:30pm half-hour, while outdrawing the NBC sitcom by 1.9 million viewers and the Fox sitcom by 2.3 million viewers. The freshman ABC sitcom won its slot in Women 18-49.

· Standing as the top comedy of the night, ABC's replay Modern Family at 9pm ranked #2 in both viewers and young adults, while finishing #1 with Women 18-34. Head to head against Fox's repeat New Girl in the half-hour, Modern Family more than doubled the Fox sitcom's overall audience (+115%) and nearly doubled in Adults 18-49 (+90%).

· Like its lead-in, a replay of ABC's Happy Endings beat Fox's New Girl during the 9:30pm half-hour in both Total Viewers (+25%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%).

Quick Take for Wednesday, December 28, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

With "Modern Family" as Wednesday's No. 1 Comedy, ABC's Repeat Line-Up Dominates Fox and NBC by Double-Digit Margins

From 8-9pm, ABC's Repeats of "The Middle" and "Suburgatory" Defeat Fox's and NBC's Comedy Encores

ABC's "Modern Family" and "Happy Endings" Tower Over Back-to-Back Replays of Fox's "New Girl" in the 9 O'clock Hour

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

With repeat comedies from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ("The Middle"/"Suburgatory"/"Modern Family"/"Happy Endings") and a replay of "Revenge" at 10:00 p.m., ABC (1.2/3) beat NBC by 50% (0.8/2) and Fox's encore comedy line-up (from 8:00-10:00 p.m.) by 20% (1.0/3) on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49. ABC also finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on the evening (4.0 million).

· At 8:00 p.m., ABC's replay of "The Middle" dominated its repeat comedy competition in the half-hour among Total Viewers (5.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.3/4), leading NBC's "Up All Night" by 1.9 million viewers and 30% in young adults (3.4 million and 1.0/3) and Fox's "Raising Hope" by 2.8 million viewers and 44% in young adults (2.5 million and 0.9/3).

· ABC's encore "Suburgatory" outperformed repeats of both NBC's "Whitney" and Fox's "Raising Hope" by 75% each with Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 0.8/2) in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour, while outdrawing the NBC sitcom by 1.9 million viewers (2.7 million) and the Fox sitcom by 2.3 million viewers (2.3 million). The freshman ABC sitcom won its slot in Women 18-49.

· Standing as the top comedy of the night, ABC's replay "Modern Family" at 9:00 p.m. ranked No. 2 in its slot in both viewers and young adults, while finishing No. 1 with Women 18-34. Head to head against Fox's repeat "New Girl" in the half-hour, "Modern Family" more than doubled the Fox sitcom's overall audience (+115% - 5.6 million vs. 2.6 million) and nearly doubled in Adults 18-49 (+90% - 1.9/5 vs. 1.0/3).

· Like its lead-in, a replay of ABC's "Happy Endings" beat Fox's "New Girl" during the 9:30 p.m. half-hour in both Total Viewers (+25% - 3.5 million vs. 2.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+9% - 1.2/3 vs. 1.1/3).

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 Ratings), 12/28/11.