ABC's "Modern Family" Is Up as Wednesday's #1 TV Show for Its 6th Straight Original/"Mixology" Jumps 25% in AD18-49

With its comedy block returning to originals for the first time in 3 weeks and a Nashville: On the Record special, ABC earned second place on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5) and delivered the night's highest-rated TV show with Modern Family. In addition, ABC's 2-hour comedy block tied Idol for #1 from 8-10pm in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) and beat Idol head-to-head by 8% in Adults 18-34 (1.4/5 vs. 1.3/5).

· Modern Family finished as Wednesday's #1 TV show for its 6th straight first-run broadcast in Adults 18-49 (3.4/10), outdelivering runner-up CBS' Survivor by 55% (2.2/7) and Fox's American Idol by a 62% (2.1/6). Modern Family also drew a larger overall audience than Idol on the night for its 3rd consecutive original (9.2 million vs. 8.9 million).

· Modern Family was up over its last original in Adults 18-49 (+3% - 3.4/10 vs. 3.3/9 on 4/2/14).

· In the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC's Mixology surged 25% week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.2/3).

Quick Take for Wednesday, April 23, 2014 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's 8-10pm Comedy Block Ties Fox's "Idol" Head to Head in Adults 18-49, as "Modern Family" is Wednesday's No. 1 TV Show for its 6th Straight Original

At 8pm, "The Middle" is No. 1 in Adults 18-34 and Key Women

"Suburgatory" Equals Season-Best Adult 18-49 Retention Out of "The Middle"

ABC's "Modern Family" is Up Over its Last Original in Viewers and Young Adults

"Mixology" Surges by 25% Week Over Week Among Adults 18-49

ABC's "Nashville" Special Takes 2nd at 10pm in Total Viewers And Outdelivers its CBS and NBC Competition in Adults 18-34

ABC Wednesday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.6 million and 1.7/5 in AD18-49):

With its comedy block returning to all-originals for the first time in 3 weeks (since 4/2/14) and a "Nashville" special, ABC earned 2nd place on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5) and delivered the night's highest-rated TV show with "Modern Family." In fact, ABC's 2-hour comedy block tied "American Idol" for No. 1 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) and beat "Idol" head-to-head by 8% in Adults 18-34 (1.4/5 vs. 1.3/5).

· "Modern Family" was Wednesday's No. 1 TV show for its 6th straight first-run broadcast in Adults 18-49 (3.4/10), outdelivering runner-up CBS' "Survivor" by 55% (2.2/7) and Fox's "American Idol" by a 62% (2.1/6). The ABC comedy also drew a larger overall audience than "Idol" on the night for its 3rd consecutive original (9.2 million vs. 8.9 million).

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 6.8 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m. against CBS' "Survivor" and Fox's "Idol," ABC's "The Middle" ranked No. 1 with Adults 18-34 (1.2/5) and key Women: W18-34 (1.7/6) and W18-49 (2.4/8-tie).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 5.2 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49):

At 8:30 p.m., "Suburgatory" matched season-best lead-in retention coming out of "The Middle" in Adults 18-49 (89% - 1.6/5 vs. 1.8/6).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m. - 9.2 million and 3.4/10 in AD18-49):

More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+113%), ABC's "Modern Family" dominated its half-hour by 55% over runner-up Fox's "American Idol" (3.4/10 vs. 2.2/6). "Modern Family" was up over its last original in Total Viewers (+2%) and Adults 18-49 (+3%).

"Mixology" (9:30-10:00 p.m. - 4.2 million and 1.5/4 in AD18-49):

In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Mixology" surged 25% week to week among Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.2/3).

"Nashville: On the Record" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.2 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):

During the 10 o'clock hour, the "Nashville: On the Record" special made ABC the No. 2 most-watched network in the hour (4.2 million) and beat its CBS and NBC competition with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

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 49% currently, from 47% at the same point in 2013. 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 Program for 04/23/14.