#1 for the 3rd Straight Wednesday, ABC Posts Most Competitive Start to a Season in 6 Years on the Night

ABC Wednesday Prime (8-11pm - 7.2 million and 2.3/7 in AD18-49): ABC ranked #1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (tie) for the 3rd straight week. Also for the 3rd week running, ABC's Modern Family was the definitive #1 TV show of the night across all key Adult demos. The Net posted its most consecutive #1 finishes on the night in 3 years (since a 4-week streak from 12/29/10-1/12/11) and is delivering its most competitive Wednesday start to a season in 6 years - since 2007.

Super Fun Night (9:30-10pm - 6.7 million and 2.5/7 in AD18-49): Continuing to deliver improved Adult 18-49 lead-in retention out of Modern Family (66% - outside of last week, the best retention for any comedy telecast in the slot since early April - since 4/10/13), ABC's Super Fun Night ranked #2 in the 9:30pm slot among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7), beating the final half-hour of Fox's The X Factor (2.4/7) and NBC's L&O: SVU (1.7/5). In addition, the new show was #1 with key Men (M18-34/M18-49). ABC's second telecast of Super Fun Night had better young adult retention of its debut (78%) than CBS' The Crazy Ones (74%), NBC's Michael J Fox Show (77%) and Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine (69%).

...more to come

Quick Take for Wednesday, October 9, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Straight Week To Deliver its Most Competitive Start to a Season in 6 Years on the Night

"The Middle" Runs Neck-And-Neck for the Lead at 8pm in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Back in the Game" Beats NBC's "Revolution" by 21% in Adults 18-49

"Modern Family" is the Night's No. 1 TV Show for the 3rd Consecutive Week

"Nashville" Increases its Adult 18-49 Lead Over NBC's "Ironside" to 55% at 10pm

ABC Wednesday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 7.2 million and 2.3/7 in AD18-49):

ABC ranked No. 1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (tie) for the 3rd straight week. Also for the 3rd week running, ABC's "Modern Family" was the definitive No. 1 TV show of the night across all key Adult demos.

· The Net posted its most consecutive No. 1 finishes on the night in 3 years (since a streak from 12/29/10-1/12/11) and is delivering its most competitive Wednesday start to a season in 6 years - since 2007.

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 8.1 million and 2.2/7 in AD18-49):

ABC's "The Middle" held even week to week with its Fast Affiliate Adult 18-49 number (2.2/7), running neck-and-neck with "Survivor" (2.3/7) for the lead at 8:00 p.m. and beating Fox's "The X Factor" (1.9/6) and NBC's "Revolution" (1.5/5).

· In Total Viewers, the ABC comedy was up week to week (+1%) and year to year (+3%).

"Back in the Game" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 6.4 million and 1.7/5 in AD18-49):

In the 8:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Back in the Game" paced within 1-tenth of last week's Fast Affiliate Adult 18-49 rating to beat NBC's "Revolution" in the half-hour by 21% (1.4/4).

· "Back in the Game" improved its time period year to year for ABC in Total Viewers.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m. - 10.4 million and 3.8/11 in AD18-49):

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family" shot up 124% from its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. to dominate its half-hour, beating CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 52% (2.5/7), Fox's "The X Factor" by 73% (2.2/6) and NBC's "L&O: SVU" by 153% (1.5/4).

· "Modern Family" held 94% of its audience week to week in Total Viewers and 90% in Adults 18-49.

"Super Fun Night" (9:30-10:00 p.m. - 6.7 million and 2.5/7 in AD18-49):

Continuing to deliver improved Adult 18-49 lead-in retention out of "Modern Family" (66% - outside of last week, the best retention for any comedy telecast in the slot since early April - since 4/10/13), ABC's "Super Fun Night" ranked No. 2 in the 9:30 p.m. slot among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7), beating the final half-hour of Fox's "The X Factor" (2.4/7) and NBC's "L&O: SVU" (1.7/5). In addition, the new show was No. 1 in its time period with key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

· ABC's second telecast of "Super Fun Night" had better young adult retention of its debut (78%) than CBS' "The Crazy Ones" (74%), NBC's "Michael J Fox Show" (77%) and Fox's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (69%).

"Nashville" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 6.0 million and 1.9/6 in AD18-49):

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "Nashville" beat NBC's "Ironside" (1.4/4) by an even greater 55% Adults 18-49 (vs. 46% the prior week) and won the hour over its drama competition with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Live + 3 Day Adult 18-49 Ratings: With increasing TV playback gains (+53% in Week 2 vs. +45% in for the premiere), "Nashville" grew by 1.0 rating point last week in L3 (2.9 rating vs. 1.9 L+SD rating) and has finished as the No. 1 broadcast in its slot on both weeks this season.

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 48% currently, from 45% at the same point in 2012. 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), 10/09/13.