or


[05/21/12 - 08:54 AM]
The Billboard Music Awards Boost ABC to #1 for the 5th Straight Sunday in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Sunday, May 20.

[via press release from ABC]

The Billboard Music Awards Boost ABC to #1 for the 5th Straight Sunday in Adults 18-49

Early info on ABC's Sunday, ahead of the regular press release.

Registering its longest winning streak on the evening in 3 years, ABC finished #1 for the 5th consecutive Sunday in Adults 18-49, overshadowing Fox's night of season finales by 26%, NBC with the 2-hour season ender of Celebrity Apprentice by 50% and CBS with its two hours of 60 Minutes and a Jesse Stone movie by 85%. Featuring the season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos and the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, the Net ranked #1 in all 8 half-hours of the evening in the key young adult sales demo. The Billboard Music Awards stood as the night's highest-rated broadcast overall with young adults.

Featuring the conclusion of its two-part season finale, ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos ranked #1 in the 7 o'clock hour for the 4th week in a row in Adults 18-49.

ABC's 3-hour broadcast of The 2012 Billboard Music Awards ran a dominant #1 in its 8-11pm time period in Adults 18-49, leading Fox by 42%, NBC by 42% and CBS by 108%. The wide-appealing music awards show also finished #1 against its rivals in the time period with Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54, across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

· Head to head from 9-11pm, ABC's Billboard Music Awards towered over NBC's season finale of Celebrity Apprentice by 27% in Adults 18-49 and by 64% in Adults 18-34.

· The Billboard Music Awards attracted its 2nd-largest audience since 2003 (since 12/10/03) and retained 100% of its Teen 12-17 delivery year to year. In fact with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11, The 2012 Billboard Music Awards produced ABC's best numbers in the time period since the 2012 Academy Awards 3 months ago - since 2/26/12.

Quick Take for Sunday, May 20, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Delivering its Longest Sunday Winning Streak in 3 Years, ABC Ranks No. 1 on the Night for the 5th Straight Week in Adults 18-49

"AFHV" Finishes No. 1 in its Slot with Adults 18-49 for the 4th Consecutive Week

The Network's Broadcast of "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" Dominates Its 3-Hour Time Period to Qualify as Sunday's No. 1 Program with Adults 18-49

"The Billboard Music Awards" Attracts its 2nd-Largest Audience Since 2003, and Among Kids and Teens Posts the Net's Top Ratings in the Slot since the "Oscars"

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Registering its longest winning streak on the evening in 3 years (since the end of the 2008-09 season), ABC finished No. 1 for the 5th consecutive Sunday in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), overshadowing Fox's night of season finales by 26% (1.9/6), NBC with the 2-hour season ender of "Celebrity Apprentice" by 50% (1.6/5) and CBS with its two hours of "60 Minutes" and a "Jesse Stone" movie by 85% (1.3/4). Featuring the season finale of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards," the Net ranked No. 1 in all 8 half-hours of the evening in the key young adult sales demo. "The Billboard Music Awards" stood as the night's highest-rated broadcast overall with young adults.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

Featuring the conclusion of its two-part season finale, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" ranked No. 1 in the 7 o'clock hour for the 4th week in a row in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5).

"The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's 3-hour broadcast of "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" ran a dominant No. 1 in its 8:00-11:00 p.m. time period in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7), leading Fox by 42% (1.9/5), NBC by 42% (1.9/5) and CBS by 108% (1.3/4). The wide-appealing music awards show also finished No. 1 against its rivals in the time period with Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54, across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

· Head to head from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "Billboard Music Awards" towered over NBC's season finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" by 27% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.2/6) and by 64% in Adults 18-34 (2.3/7 vs. 1.4/4).

· "The Billboard Music Awards" (7.4 million) attracted its 2nd-largest audience since 2003 (since 12/10/03) and retained 100% of its Teen 12-17 (2.4/9) delivery year to year. In fact with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11, "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" produced ABC's best numbers in the time period since the 2012 Academy Awards 3 months ago - since 2/26/12.

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 44% currently, from 41% 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), 05/20/12.





  [may 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· APPRENTICE, THE (NBC)
· JESSE STONE: BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT (CBS)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.

[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.

[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.

[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.

[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.

[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.

[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.

[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.

[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).

[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.

[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.