ABC is the Only Net Up on Wednesday Year to Year

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

Opposite Fox with a 2-hour American Idol comprising its entire Wednesday lineup, ABC finished in a virtual-tie with CBS (with the Survivor premiere) in Adults 18-49, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point. ABC beat out fifth-place NBC on the night by 115%. In addition, the Net ran #2 to Fox on the night with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Wednesday's dominant #1 scripted show in Adults 18-49, ABC's Modern Family beat out Idol for the 2nd week in a row with Men 18-34 to stand as the night's #1 show in the hard-to-reach male demo.

· As CBS, NBC and Fox lost ground year to year, ABC shot up over the year-ago Wednesday by 1.2 million viewers and by 22% in Adults 18-49.

Growing year to year at 8pm against the Survivor opener and Idol, ABC's The Middle outdelivered its NBC comedy competition (Whitney) by 3.6 million viewers and by 56% in Adults 18-49. The ABC comedy took second to Idol in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, outrunning Survivor by 21% and 18%, respectively.

· The Middle was up over the same night last year in both viewers (+3%) and young adults (+9%).

Like its lead-in, ABC's Suburgatory towered over its comedy competition in the 8:30pm half-hour, once again topping NBC's Are You There, Chelsea? by enormous margins in viewers (+97%) and young adults (+71%). Impressively, the ABC freshman comedy defeated the second half of the Survivor opener by double digits across the 18-34 demographics: AD18-34 (+20%), M18-34 (+33%) and W18-34 (+11%).

· Suburgatory substantially improved its time period for ABC over the year-ago Wednesday against Idol and Survivor by 17% in Total Viewers and by 33% in Adults 18-49.

Scoring its 2nd-highest-ever number against an Idol telecast, ABC's Modern Family nearly doubled its lead-in at 9pm to beat its nearest scripted competition in the slot by 57% in Adults 18-49 (CBS' Criminal Minds).

· Building over the same night last year in viewers (+6%) and young adults (+9%), ABC's Modern Family marked the series' 2nd-strongest performance to date opposite an American Idol on both counts.

During the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC's Happy Endings ranked #2 to Idol in Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

Finishing a strong #2 during the 10pm hour, ABC freshman drama Revenge dominated NBC's veteran L&O: SVU in viewers (+31%) and young adults (+41%). In addition, the Disney-owned drama once again finished #1 in the hour with Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

· ABC's Revenge produced huge year-over-year improvement in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour, jumping by 77% in Total Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49 over first-run drama programming on the year-ago evening (Off the Map on 2/16/11).

Quick Take for Wednesday, February 15, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Surges on Wednesday Year to Year, as CBS, NBC and Fox Decline

ABC's "Modern Family" Beats Fox's "Idol" in Men 18-34 for the 2nd Week in a Row

ABC's "The Middle" is Up Year Over Year Against the Premiere of CBS' "Survivor"

Boosting its Slot, ABC's "Suburgatory" Beats "Survivor" Across the 18-34 Demos

Scoring its 2nd-Best-Ever Number Against an "Idol," ABC's "Modern Family" Qualifies as Wednesday's Dominant No. 1 Scripted TV Show in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Happy Endings" is the No. 1 Scripted Show in its Slot with Adults 18-34

ABC's "Revenge" Wins the 10pm Hour in Adults 18-34 and Key Women, while Improving its Slot by Huge Margins Year to Year in Viewers and Young Adults

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

Opposite Fox with a 2-hour "American Idol" comprising its entire Wednesday lineup, ABC finished in a virtual tie with CBS (with the "Survivor" premiere) in Adults 18-49, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point (2.8/7 vs. 2.9/8). ABC beat out fifth-place NBC (1.3/6) on the night by 115%. In addition, the Net ran No. 2 to Fox on the evening with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Wednesday's dominant No. 1 scripted show in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" beat out "Idol" for the 2nd week in a row with Men 18-34 to stand as the night's No. 1 show in the hard-to-reach male demo.

· As CBS, NBC and Fox lost ground year to year, ABC shot up over the year-ago Wednesday (2/16/11) by 1.2 million viewers (7.9 million vs. 6.7 million) and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.3/7).

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Growing year to year at 8:00 p.m. against the "Survivor: One World" opener and "Idol," ABC's "The Middle" outdelivered its NBC comedy competition ("Whitney") by 3.6 million viewers (8.1 million vs. 4.5 million) and by 56% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 1.6/5). The ABC comedy took second to "Idol" in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, outrunning "Survivor" by 21% and 18%, respectively.

· "The Middle" was up over the same night last year in both viewers (+3%) and young adults (+9%).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Like its lead-in, ABC's "Suburgatory" towered over its comedy competition in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour, once again topping NBC's "Are You There, Chelsea?" by enormous margins in viewers (+97% - 6.9 million vs. 3.5 million) and young adults (+71% - 2.4/6 vs. 1.4/4). Impressively, the ABC freshman comedy defeated the second half of the "Survivor" opener by double digits across the 18-34 demographics: AD18-34 (+20%), M18-34 (+33%) and W18-34 (+11%).

· "Suburgatory" substantially improved its time period for ABC over the year-ago Wednesday against "Idol" and "Survivor" by 17% in Total Viewers and by 33% in Adults 18-49.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Scoring its 2nd-highest-ever number against an "Idol" telecast, ABC's "Modern Family" nearly doubled its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. to beat its nearest scripted competition in the slot by 57% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 vs. 3.0/7 - CBS' "Criminal Minds").

· Building over the same night last year in viewers (+6%) and young adults (+9%), ABC's "Modern Family" marked the series' 2nd-strongest performance to date opposite "American Idol" on both Nielsen measures.

"Happy Endings" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

During the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Happy Endings" ranked No. 2 to "Idol" in Adults 18-34 (2.2/6), Women 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

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

Finishing a strong No. 2 during the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC freshman drama "Revenge" dominated NBC's veteran "L&O: SVU" in viewers (+31% - 7.6 million vs. 5.8 million) and young adults (+41% - 2.4/6 vs. 1.7/4). In addition, the Disney-owned drama once again placed No. 1 in the hour with Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

· ABC's "Revenge" produced huge year-over-year improvement in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour, jumping by 77% in Total Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49 over first-run drama programming on the year-ago evening ("Off the Map" on 2/16/11 = 4.3 million and 1.5/4).

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 39% at the same point in 2011. 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), 2/15/12.