ABC is Monday's Most-Watched Net for the 3rd Week Running

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

Featuring its lineup of Dancing with the Stars and Castle, ABC registered as the Monday's most-watched net for the 3rd week in a row, edging out the preliminary number for CBS with the 2012 NCAA Basketball Men's Championship Game, while topping NBC with The Voice and Smash by 5.9 million viewers and doubling the audience of Fox with the return of Bones and the time-slot premiere of House. In addition, ABC beat out Fox's original drama lineup on the night in Adults 18-49 (+8%).

ABC's Dancing with the Stars was the top draw in its 2-hour time period for the 3rd straight week, beating out NBC's The Voice in head-to-head competition by 5.8 million viewers. Among Adults 18-49, ABC's Dancing outdelivered Fox's combo of Bones and House by 17% in the time period.

· Despite going up against the NCAA Championship Basketball Game, ABC's DWTS held 100% of its Adult 18-34 audience week to week and spiked 25% with Men 18-34.

The night's #1 drama in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, ABC's Castle stood as the top series in its slot for the 2nd consecutive week on both counts. In fact, ABC's Castle nearly doubled the audience of NBC's Smash (+98%) during the 10 o'clock hour and defeated the NBC drama by 19% in Adults 25-54.

· Gaining for its 3rd straight original broadcast, ABC's Castle generated its most-watched telecast since October - since 10/31/11.

· Castle increased its overall audience year to year, topping its year-ago telecast by 5%.

Quick Take for Monday, April 2, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Stands as Monday's Most-Watched Net for the 3rd Straight Week

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Leads its Time Slot for the 3rd Week in a Row, Topping NBC's "The Voice" by 5.8 Million Viewers

ABC's "Castle" Ranks as Monday's Top Scripted Program, Beating NBC's "Smash" in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54

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

Featuring its lineup of "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC registered as the Monday's most-watched net for the 3rd week in a row (15.0 million), edging out the preliminary number for CBS with the "2012 NCAA Basketball Men's Championship Game" (14.6 million), while topping NBC with "The Voice" and "Smash" by 5.9 million viewers (9.1 million) and doubling the audience of Fox with the return of "Bones" and the time-slot premiere of "House" (7.5 million). In addition, ABC beat out Fox's original drama lineup on the night in Adults 18-49 (+8% - 2.6/7 vs. 2.4/6).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" was the top draw in its 2-hour time period for the 3rd straight week, beating out NBC's "The Voice" in head-to-head competition by 5.8 million viewers (16.5 million vs. 10.7 million). Among Adults 18-49, ABC's "Dancing" outdelivered Fox's combo of "Bones" and "House" by 17% in the time period (2.8/7 vs. 2.4/6).

· Despite going up against the "2012 NCAA Championship Basketball Game," ABC's "DWTS" held 100% of its Adult 18-34 audience week to week and spiked 25% with Men 18-34.

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

The night's No. 1 drama in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, ABC's "Castle" stood as the top series in its slot for the 2nd consecutive week on both counts. In fact, ABC's "Castle" nearly doubled the audience of NBC's "Smash" (+98% - 12.1 million vs. 6.1 million) during the 10 o'clock hour and defeated the NBC drama by 19% in Adults 25-54 (3.2/7 vs. 2.7/6).

· Gaining for its 3rd straight original broadcast, ABC's "Castle" generated its most-watched telecast since October - since 10/31/11.

· Castle increased its overall audience year to year, topping its year-ago telecast by 5% (11.5 million on 4/4/11).

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), 4/2/12.