ABC's "Megastunts" Draws Mega Numbers on Friday Night

With coverage surrounding Nik Wallenda's highwire walk directly over the precipice at Niagara Falls, ABC won Friday evening by huge margins over its nearest competitors with Total Viewers (+89% - 8.7 million vs. 4.6 million - CBS), Adults 18-49 (+110% - 2.1/8 vs. 1.0/4 - NBC) and Adults 25-54 (+117% - 2.6/8 vs. 1.2/4 - NBC). ABC's night was anchored by Josh Elliott and ESPN's Hannah Storm, and featured reporting from Elliott, Storm, Bill Weir and Sam Champion.

· ABC marked its most-watched Friday since November 2007 (11/30/07).

During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's Countdown to Niagara: The Greatest Megastunts of All Time led its competition in Total Viewers (5.7 million), Adults 18-49 (1.2/5) and Adults 25-54 (1.5/6).

From 9-11pm, ABC's Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls - Live! ranked as Friday's #1 TV program overall and dominated its competition, more than doubling the delivery of NBC's 2-hour Dateline in Total Viewers (+115% - 10.1 million vs. 4.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+108% - 2.5/9 vs. 1.2/4) in head-to-head competition. In fact, ABC's Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls stood as the most-watched non-sports summertime (Memorial Day-Labor Day) telecast on the major networks since at least 2006.

· Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls - Live! turned in ABC's biggest audience in the 2-hour time period in more than 5-1/2 years - since 12/1/06.

· Building steadily throughout its telecast, the Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls - Live! shot up by 5.7 million viewers, by 100% in Adults 18-49 and by 115% in Adults 25-54 from its first half hour to its final half hour. The show drew massive numbers during its final half hour, pulling in 13.1 million viewers, a 3.4/11 in Adults 18-49 and a 4.3/12 in Adults 25-54 from 10:30-11pm.