ABC's "Wipeout" Opens with its Best Young Adult Number Since January

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

With Duets, the summer opener of Wipeout and Rookie Blue, ABC ranked #1 among the major nets on Thursday night in Adults 18-49, beating all-original line-ups on Fox by 18% and NBC by 30%.

Nearly doubling its lead-in among young adults (+90%), ABC's summer season premiere of Wipeout ranked #1 in the 9 o'clock hour with Adults 18-49, defeating runner-up Fox's The Choice by 58%. Wipeout dominated NBC's Saving Hope in the slot by 79% in Total Viewers and by 171% in Adults 18-49.

· The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series was Thursday's top-rated broadcast show with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

· Wipeout topped last season's finale by 27% among Adults 18-49 to open this season with its highest number since January - since 1/12/12.

· Moving to the 9 o'clock hour this summer, Wipeout improved over original series programming in the time slot on the same night last summer (Expedition Impossible on 6/30/11) by 6% in Adults 18-49. In fact, the show delivered ABC's highest summertime (Memorial Day-Labor Day) young adult number in the hour with regular programming in 1 year - since 6/23/11.

Quick Take for Thursday, June 28, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on Thursday with Adults 18-49, Beating Originals on Fox and NBC

Summer Opener of "Wipeout" Posts its Best Young Adult Number Since January

At 9 O'clock, ABC's "Wipeout" Crushes Fox's "The Choice" by 58% and NBC's "Saving Hope" by 171%

At 10pm, ABC's "Rookie Blue" Defeats NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams"

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

With the "Duets" live show, the summer opener of "Wipeout" and "Rookie Blue," ABC ranked No. 1 on Thursday night among the major nets in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4-tie), beating all-original schedules on Fox by 18% (1.1/3) and NBC by 30% (1.0/3).

· As its Thursday line-up returned to series programming for the first time in three weeks, ABC improved over its last regular Thursday schedule by 8% among Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 on 6/7/12).

"Wipeout" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Nearly doubling its lead-in among young adults (+90%), ABC's summer season premiere of "Wipeout" ranked No. 1 in the 9 o'clock hour with Adults 18-49 (1.9/6), defeating runner-up Fox's "The Choice" by 58% (1.2/4). "Wipeout" dominated NBC's "Saving Hope" in the slot by 79% in Total Viewers (5.9 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 171% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 0.7/2).

· The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series was Thursday's top-rated broadcast show with Teens 12-17 (tie) and Kids 2-11.

· "Wipeout" topped last season's finale by 27% among Adults 18-49 to open this season with its highest number since January - since 1/12/12.

· Moving to the 9 o'clock hour this summer, "Wipeout" improved over original series programming in the time slot on the same night last summer by 6% in Adults 18-49 ("Expedition Impossible" on 6/30/11 = 1.8/6). In fact, the show delivered ABC's highest non-sports summertime (Memorial Day-Labor Day) number in the hour among young adults in 1 year - since 6/23/11.

"Rookie Blue" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "Rookie Blue" finished as the 2nd-most-watched TV program (4.9 million), while ranking No. 1 with Adults 25-54 (1.5/4-tie) and Adults 18-49 (1.1/3-tie). In the hour, the ABC drama towered over NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams" (3.5 million, 1.2/3 and 0.8/2) by 1.4 million viewers, by 25% in Adults 25-54 and by 38% in Adults 18-49.

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), 06/28/12.