ABC's Mostly Repeat Wednesday Towers Over NBC's Original Schedule

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

Up against all-original competition on the other nets including Fox's 2-hour American Idol, ABC's mostly repeat line-up (1 original half-hour) overshadowed NBC's first-run schedule (including the series debut of Bent) by 1.7 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49.

At 8pm, ABC's repeat The Middle delivered a 17% larger audience than NBC's original Whitney.

Building on its lead-in at 8:30pm among young adults, ABC's repeat Suburgatory beat its original NBC comedy competition by an ever larger margin, topping Are You There, Chelsea? by 26% in Total Viewers and essentially tying the first-run NBC comedy in Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share).

At 9pm, ABC's repeat Modern Family crushed NBC's series debut of Bent, doubling the delivery of the new NBC comedy in both Total Viewers (+100%) and Adults 18-49 (+100%).

Like its lead-in, during the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC's Happy Endings towered over a second original episode of NBC's Bent, topping its comedy competition by 1.7 million viewers and by 100% in Adults 18-49. In addition, the ABC sophomore comedy finished as the #1 scripted show in its slot among hard-to-reach Men 18-34.

During the 10 o'clock hour, a replay of the Missing pilot built on its lead-in (+22%) and attracted 2.0 million more viewers than NBC's original Rock Center with Brian Williams. In addition, the repeat ABC freshman drama beat out the first-run NBC newsmagazine by enormous margins in both Adults 25-54 (+89%) and Adults 18-49 (+86%).

· ABC's Missing rebroadcast improved its time period week to week in Total Viewers (+14%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%), while drawing 11% more viewers to the hour year to year over original programming on the year-ago evening.

Quick Take for Wednesday, March 21, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's Mostly Repeat Wednesday Overpowers NBC's Original Schedule on the Night

From 8-9pm, ABC's Repeat Airings of "The Middle" and "Suburgatory" Outdraw NBC's First-Run Comedies by Double Digits in Total Viewers

ABC's Repeat "Modern Family" Doubles the Debut of NBC's "Bent" at 9pm

ABC's "Happy Endings" Takes Full Control of NBC's Second Telecast of "Bent," While Finishing as the No. 1 Scripted TV Show in its Half-Hour with Men 18-34

Building Sharply on its Lead-in at 10pm, ABC's Replay of the Pilot for "Missing" Tops NBC's "Rock Center" by 2.0 Million Viewers and Improves its Time Period

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

Up against all-original competition on the other nets including Fox's 2-hour "American Idol," ABC's mostly repeat lineup (1 original half-hour) overshadowed NBC's first-run schedule (including the series debut of "Bent") by 1.7 million viewers (4.9 million vs. 3.2 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.0/3).

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

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's repeat "The Middle" delivered a 17% larger audience than NBC's original "Whitney" (4.9 million vs. 4.2 million).

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

Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. among young adults, ABC's repeat "Suburgatory" beat its original NBC comedy competition by an ever larger margin, topping "Are You There, Chelsea?" by 26% in Total Viewers (4.4 million vs. 3.5 million) and essentially tying the first-run NBC comedy in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.4/4 - pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share).

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

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's repeat "Modern Family" crushed NBC's series debut of "Bent," doubling the delivery of the new NBC comedy in both Total Viewers (+100% - 5.6 million vs. 2.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+100% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.0/3).

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

Like its lead-in, during the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Happy Endings" towered over a second original episode of NBC's "Bent," topping its comedy competition by 1.7 million viewers (4.1 million vs. 2.4 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 0.9/2). In addition, the ABC sophomore comedy jumped from its lead-in by 17% to finish as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot with hard-to-reach Men 18-34 (1.4/5 vs. 1.2/4).

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

During the 10 o'clock hour, a replay of the "Missing" pilot built sharply on its lead-in (+22%) and attracted 2.0 million more viewers than NBC's original "Rock Center with Brian Williams" (5.0 million vs. 3.0 million). In addition, the repeat ABC freshman drama beat out the first-run NBC newsmagazine by enormous margins in both Adults 25-54 (+89% - 1.7/4 vs. 0.9/2) and Adults 18-49 (+86% - 1.3/3 vs. 0.7/2).

· ABC's "Missing" rebroadcast improved its time period week to week in Total Viewers (+14%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%), while drawing 11% more viewers to the hour year to year over original programming on the year-ago evening.

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 40% 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 Day Ratings), 03/21/12.