ABC Wins with the CMA Awards Scoring its Top Non-Sports Thursday in Over 3 Years

With its broadcast of The 46th Annual CMA Awards, ABC won Thursday night, beating out runner-up CBS by 7% in Total Viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49. ABC ranked #1 in 5 of 6 half-hours of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact the Network swept the evening, finishing #1 in viewers and all key Adult demos (A18-34/A18-49/A25-54), while standing as the highest-rated broadcaster with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

Please note: ABC's CMA Awards moved from its traditional Wednesday night airing to Thursday this year. Also, due to the ongoing impact of Sandy with continuing power outages and preemptions in the east, year-to-year comparisons for the CMA Awards are not valid apples-to-apples comparisons.

· ABC marked its most-watched non-sports Thursday in well over 3 years and its top non-sports Adult 18-49 number on the evening in nearly 2-1/2 years - since 9/24/09 and 5/20/10, respectively.

· ABC scored its highest Adult 18-49 number on any night this season.

· The 2012 CMA Awards on ABC topped CBS' 2012 telecast of the ACM Awards in April (on 4/1/12) in both viewers (+4%) and young adults (+23%).

Quick Take for Thursday, November 1, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Sweeps Thursday Night with its Broadcast of "The 46th Annual CMA Awards," Scoring its Strongest Adult 18-49 Performance on Any Night So Far This Season

The Network Marks its Most-Watched Non-Sports Thursday in Over 3 Years And Posts its Highest Non-Sports Adult 18-49 Number in Nearly 2-1/2 Years

ABC's "CMA Awards" Tops CBS' "ACM Awards" in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

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

With its broadcast of "The 46th Annual CMA Awards," ABC won Thursday night, beating out runner-up CBS by 7% in Total Viewers (13.6 million vs. 12.7 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (3.8/10 vs. 3.2/9). ABC ranked No. 1 in 5 of 6 half-hours of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact the Network swept the evening, finishing No. 1 in Viewers and all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), while standing as the highest-rated broadcaster in Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

Please note: ABC's "CMA Awards" telecast moved from its traditional Wednesday night airing to Thursday this year. Also, due to the ongoing impact of Sandy with continuing power outages and preemptions in the east, year-to-year comparisons for the "CMA Awards" are not valid apples-to-apples comparisons.

· ABC marked its most-watched non-sports Thursday in well over 3 years and delivered its top non-sports Adult 18-49 number on the evening in nearly 2-1/2 years - since 9/24/09 and 5/20/10, respectively.

· The Net scored its highest Adult 18-49 number on any night this season.

· The 2012 "CMA Awards" on ABC topped CBS' 2012 telecast of the "ACM Awards" in April (13.1 million and 3.1/8 on 4/1/12) in both viewers (+4%) and young adults (+23%).

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 46% currently, from 43% 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, 11/01/12.