Primetime Ratings Report
For the week of November 7, 2011
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
Hitting Season Highs, ABC Marks its Most-Competitive Finish This Season, Producing the Network's Most-Watched Non-"Oscar" Week in 2 Years
Among Adults 18-49, ABC Claims TV's No. 1 Drama with "Grey's Anatomy,"
And for the 4th Week Running, the No. 1 New Drama with "Once Upon a Time"
The Network Finishes No. 1 on Monday in Viewers for the 8th Consecutive Week
ABC's "DWTS" Scores Best-Since-Premiere Numbers with Viewers and Adults 18-49
Building Year to Year, ABC's "Castle" Stands as Monday's Most-Watched Drama
ABC's "Last Man Standing" Qualifies as Tuesday's No. 1 Most-Watched Comedy
Shooting Up 39% Over its Year-Ago Broadcast, ABC's "In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville" Outdraws NBC's "Parenthood" by 3.2 Million Viewers
With "The 45th Annual CMA Awards," ABC Dominates Wednesday Evening,
Beating its Closest Competitors by 5.6 Million Viewers and by 26% in Adults 18-49
Up Year to Year with Young Adults, Key Men, Key Women and Teens, ABC's "CMA Awards" Equals its 2nd-Best Adult 18-34 and Highest Men 18-34 Numbers in 7 Years
2011 Fall Finale of "Grey's Anatomy" Scores Series' Best Results in Over 7 Months
Winning Thursday's 10pm Hour in Adults 18-49 and Up for the 3rd Week Running, ABC's "Private Practice" Equals the Series' Highest-Rated Broadcast in 1 Year
ABC Wins Big as "Saturday Night Football" Overpowers the "UFC on Fox"
Against NFL-Fueled Competition, ABC Marks a Sunday Season High in Adults 18-49
ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" Scores its Strongest Numbers Since May
TV's No. 1 New Drama, "Once Upon a Time" is Sunday's No. 1 Non-Sports Show
ABC's "Housewives" Marks Best-Since-Premiere Results in Viewers and Key Adults
Attracting its Biggest Audience in 3 Weeks, ABC's "Pan Am" Builds in Key Demos
WEEK No. 8:
Hitting season highs during the week of November 7, 2011, ABC also marked its most-competitive finish this season, pacing within 500k viewers of tying CBS for No 1 in Total Viewers (10.3 million vs. 10.8 million) and within 2-tenths of a rating point of tying Fox for No. 1 in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 3.0/8). In addition, the Net ranked No. 1 for the week in Adults 25-54 (tie) and key Women (W18-49/W25-54).
· For the 8th straight week this season, ABC increased its overall audience year to year in the 10 o'clock hour (+2% - 9.8 million vs. 9.6 million). On average season to date (8 Complete Weeks) on Monday-Friday from 10:00-11:00 p.m. as a lead-in to affiliates' late-local news, ABC is exhibiting solid year-to-year growth in Total Viewers (+11%), Adults 18-49 (+7%) and Adults 25-54 (+12%). In fact season to date, ABC is the only net to show improvement on any of the three Nielsen measures, as CBS and NBC are each down.
· Generating its biggest weekly audience this season and equaling a season high in Adults 18-49 (tying premiere week), ABC scored its most-watched non-"Oscar" week overall in 2 years - since w/o 11/9/09. In fact, ABC was the only major net to post week to week gains on both measures.
Rankings: ABC delivered 4 of the week's Top 20 TV shows in Adults 18-49, including the No. 1 drama with "Grey's" and TV's No. 1 freshman drama series for the 4th straight week with "Once Upon a Time:" "CMA Awards" - No. 5, "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 10, "Once Upon a Time" - No. 13 and "DWTS" - No. 17. The Net aired 5 of the week's Top 20 most-watched television programs overall, once again claiming the No. 1 unscripted series with "Dancing:" "DWTS" - No. 3, "CMA Awards" - No. 5, "DWTS: The Results" - No. 8, "Once Upon a Time" - No. 17 and "Grey's" - No. 20.
Monday
Growing week to week, ABC stood as Monday's most-watched TV network (15.8 million), topping CBS by a season-best 4.3 million viewers (11.5 million - "HIMYM"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0"), Fox by 8.1 million viewers (7.7 million - "Terra Nova"/"House") and NBC by 11.8 million viewers (4.0 million - "The Sing Off"/"Rock Center with Brian Williams"). ABC finished as Monday's No. 1 network in Total Viewers for the 8th week running this season. In addition among Adults 18-49 (3.1/8), ABC once again beat out Fox by a strong margin on Monday (+15% - 2.7/7) and continued to more than double NBC's young adult delivery on the evening (+138% - 1.3/3).
· ABC drew its biggest audience on the evening in 7 weeks and equaled its top Adult 18-49 number in 6 weeks - 9/19/11 and 9/26/11, respectively.
"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Building audience from its first to second hour, "Dancing with the Stars" made ABC the most-watched net in its time slot for the 8th consecutive week. ABC's broad-skewing dance performance show finished as the No. 2 broadcast show in the slot with AD18-49, AD25-54 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49), while ranking No. 1 with Women 25-54 and Kids 2-11. ABC's "Dancing" qualified as Monday's most-watched TV show overall for its 5th consecutive broadcast.
· Surging week to week in viewers (+12% - 18.2 million vs. 16.3 million) and young adults (+21% - 3.4/8 vs. 2.8/7), "DWTS" marked best-since premiere results on both counts.
"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
For the 8th week in a row this season, ABC's "Castle" ran as the most-watched scripted show during Monday's 10 o'clock hour. "Castle" overshadowed NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams" in the hour, more than tripling the NBC newsmagazine in Total Viewers (+217% - 11.1 million vs. 3.5 million) and more than doubling its Adult 18-49 number (+140% - 2.4/6 vs. 1.0/3). "Castle" once again registered as Monday's most-watched drama series, outdrawing CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" by 8% (10.3 million), Fox's "House" by 46% (7.6 million) and Fox's "Terra Nova" by 42% (7.8 million).
· The fourth-season ABC drama grew its overall audience year to year for the 6th time in 8 broadcasts this season (10.8 million on 11/8/10).
Tuesday
ABC once again finished as the No. 2 most-watched network (10.5 million) on Tuesday evening to CBS, besting Fox by 4.2 million viewers (6.3 million) and NBC by 4.2 million (6.3 million).
"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
Starting out the night for ABC at 8:00 p.m. opposite CBS' top-rated "NCIS," ABC's "Last Man Standing" (9.3 million) stood as the 2nd-most-watched TV show overall, topping Fox's "Glee" by 2.4 million viewers (6.9 million) and NBC's "The Biggest Loser 12" by 2.6 million viewers (6.7 million). The new broad-skewing ABC comedy continued to beat out NBC's veteran "Biggest Loser" among Adults 18-49 (+18% - 2.6/7 vs. 2.2/6), while once again finishing No. 2 in its time slot with Adults 25-54 and key Men (M18-49/M25-54).
· ABC self-starter "Last Man Standing" qualified as Tuesday's most-watched comedy overall, outdrawing Fox's runner-up "Glee"-led "New Girl" (6.8 million) at 9:00 p.m. by 2.5 million viewers.
· "Last Man Standing" improved its half-hour for ABC over the year-ago night ("No Ordinary Family" on 11/9/10 = 7.6 million and 2.1/6) by wide margins in viewers (+22%) and young adults (+24%).
· The ABC freshman comedy retained 96% of its week-ago Adult 18-49 audience, held 100% with Adults 18-34 and Adults 25-54, while growing +23% in Teens 12-17 to hit its 2nd-highest number yet.
"Man Up!" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
At 8:30 p.m. against stiff competition from the second half-hours of "NCIS" and "Glee," ABC's "Man Up!" held nearly all of its viewers (97% - 6.2 million vs. 6.4 million) and young adults (94% - 1.7/5 vs. 1.8/5) week to week, while spiking +38% in Teens 12-17 to deliver a series high.
"Dancing with the Stars: The Results" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. and growing throughout its broadcast, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: The Results" registered as the 2nd-most-watched TV show in its hour (15.1 million), more than doubling the audiences for "The Biggest Loser" (+119% - 6.9 million) and Fox's comedies (+165% - "New Girl"/"Raising Hope" - 5.7 million). In addition, the ABC dancing results program ranked No. 1 in its slot with key Women (W18-49/W25-54). "Dancing" defeated its NBC unscripted competition in the hour among Adults 18-49 (+12% - 2.8/7 vs. 2.5/6). Attorney and TV personality Nancy Grace was the eighth celebrity dancer to leave the ABC dance competition this season.
"In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's special "In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville" qualified as the 2nd-most-watched show in the 10 o'clock hour, beating NBC's "Parenthood" by 3.2 million viewers (8.5 million vs. 5.3 million). "In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts" also ranked No. 2 in its slot with Women 25-54 and was the 2nd-highest rated broadcast program with Teens 12-17 (tie). The annual special is a lead-up to tonight's broadcast of "The 45th Annual CMA Awards" on ABC from 8:00-11:00 p.m. (on Wednesday, 11/9/11).
· Versus the same night last year ("Detroit 1-8-7" = 7.6 million), "In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville" improved its time period for ABC by strong percentages in Total Viewers (+12%) and across all key Women: W18-34 (+18%), W18-49 (+9%) and W25-54 (+16%).
· "In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts" shot up over its year-ago performance by 39% in Total Viewers (6.1 million on Wednesday, 11/3/10).
Wednesday
"The 45th Annual CMA Awards" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With its broadcast of "The 45th Annual CMA Awards," ABC dominated Wednesday night, beating out its nearest competition on the evening by 5.6 million viewers (16.4 million vs. 10.8 million - CBS) and by 26% in Adults 18-49 (4.8/13 vs. 3.8/10 - Fox's 2-hour "The X Factor"). ABC ranked No. 1 in all 6 half-hours of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact it was a clean sweep on the evening, as the Net ran No. 1 on Wednesday across all key Adult, Men and Women demographics (18-34/18-49/25-54), as well standing as the top-rated broadcaster with Teens 12-17.
· ABC posted its top-rated Wednesday in 2 years among Adults 18-49 - since 11/11/09.
· ABC scored its best Adult 18-49 number on any night this season, while delivering the 2nd-highest non-sports driven performance for any network on any evening this season, behind only CBS' "Two and a Half Men"-fueled delivery on premiere Monday - over 7 weeks ago, on 9/19/11.
· During the show's final hour, ABC produced the biggest non-sports numbers for any network in the 10 o'clock hour on any night this season with Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54).
· Despite facing heightened competition this year from Fox's 2-hour "The X Factor," the "CMA Awards" was up year to year in Adults 18-49 (+2% - 4.8/13 vs. 4.7/13). In addition, ABC's annual country music awards show built year to year across a number of other key younger demos: Adults 18-34 (+8%), Women 18-34 (+6%), Men 18-34 (+11%) and Teens (+24%). In fact, the "CMA Awards" equaled its 2nd-best Adult 18-34 number in 7 years and its highest Men 18-34 number 7 years - since 2004.
· ABC's 2011 telecast of the "CMA Awards" eclipsed CBS' 2011 telecast of the "ACM Awards" in April by 3.4 million viewers and by 45% in Adults 18-49 (CBS' "ACM Awards" on 4/3/11 = 13.0 million viewers and 3.3/9 in AD18-49).
· An estimated 35.0 million viewers watched at least some portion of "The 45th Annual CMA Awards" on ABC during its 3-hour broadcast - unduplicated Viewers 2+ watching 6 minutes or more of the telecast.
Thursday
ABC's Thursday delivery built by double-digit percentages week to week in viewers (+11% - 8.0 million vs. 7.2 million) and young adults (+13% - 2.7/7 vs. 2.4/7), hitting a best-since-premiere rating on the evening with Adults 18-49 - since 9/22/11.
· The Net was up over the year-ago November Sweep Thursday (7.8 million and 2.6/7 on 11/11/10) in both Total Viewers (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%).
"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
Once again tripling its lead-in (+273%) at 9:00 p.m., ABC self starter "Grey's Anatomy" was Thursday's No. 1 drama with Adults 18-49 for the 8th week running this season, towering over Fox's "The X Factor"-fueled "Bones." Dominating the 9 o'clock hour in young adults, the fall finale of "Grey's" (4.1/10) defeated Fox's "Bones" (2.6/6) by a much greater margin of 58% this week (up from 9% the prior week) and outdelivered NBC's original comedies ("The Office"/"Whitney") by 58% (2.6/6). In addition, the ABC veteran drama once again shot to the top of its time slot among Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and all key Women, finishing as Thursday's No. 1 TV show across the Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).
· Surging over the prior week by 1.8 million viewers (11.3 million vs. 9.5 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 vs. 3.6/9), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" pulled in its biggest audience and matched its best young adult number in more than 7 months - since 3/31/11. In addition, "Grey's" grew its Adult 18-34 audience for the 5th straight broadcast, earning its highest rating since its September season opener - since 9/22/11.
"Private Practice" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
Continuing its build, ABC's "Private Practice" more than doubled its original drama competition to win the 10 o'clock hour, beating NBC's "Prime Suspect" by 152% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 1.3/3). Additionally, "Private Practice" ran as the No. 1 drama in the hour for the 7th straight week with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.
· As its numbers increased for the 3rd consecutive week in viewers (+14% - 7.5 million vs. 6.6 million) and young adults (+8% - 2.8/7 vs. 2.6/7), ABC's "Private Practice" attracted its biggest audience since its premiere and equaled its highest Adult 18-49 number in 1 year - since 11/18/10.
Friday
ABC ranked as the 2nd-most-watched network overall on Friday evening (5.2 million), leading NBC by 18% in Total Viewers (4.4 million) and Fox by 49% (3.5 million).
· Up 4% week to week in overall viewers (5.2 million vs. 5.0 million), ABC delivered its 2nd-biggest audience on the night this season.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m., a special Veteran's Day episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" drew a larger overall audience (4.1 million) than Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" (+5% - 3.9 million) and NBC's "Chuck" (+32% - 3.1 million).
"20/20: Caught in the Act" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
At 9 o'clock, a special edition of "20/20" ranked No. 2 in Total Viewers (5.6 million), outdrawing NBC's "Grimm" by 8% (5.2 million) and Fox's "Fringe" by 87% (3.1 million). This special edition of "20/20: Caught in the Act" featured stories behind videos of store clerks fighting back, bank robbers, TV reporters, a Colorado killer and cops caught drinking, all captured on tape.
"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "20/20" outdrew its NBC newsmagazine competition in the slot for the 4th week in a row (5.9 million vs. 4.9 million), increasing its Total Viewer advantage over "Dateline" for the 2nd straight week (to 20% up from 14% the prior week). "20/20" featured Chris Cuomo's reporting on a small-town scandal in Prosser, Washington, where the former mayor and wife of the popular high school principal was accused of having inappropriate physical contact with a 14-year-old high school student.
· Surging over the prior week by 1.1 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.1/3), "20/20" marked best-since-premiere numbers.
Saturday
Coverage of "Saturday Night Football," featuring Oregon at Stanford, took ABC to a solid No. 1 on the evening, beating its nearest competition by 3.1 million viewers (8.6 million vs. 5.5 million - CBS) and by 26% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/9 vs. 2.3/7 - Fox). The Net grew week to week by 197% in Total Viewers and by 263% in young adults, turning in its best performance on the night this season.
· Airing from 8:07-11:40 p.m., ABC's "Saturday Night Football" easily qualified as the night's most-watched TV program among Total Viewers, outdrawing runner-up "UFC on Fox" by 3.0 million viewers (8.7 million vs. 5.7 million). The ABC football match also ranked as Saturday's top-rated program in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9 - tie), Adults 25-54 (3.4/9) and key Men (M18-49/M25-54).
· "Saturday Night Football" catapulted over coverage of the prior week's games (Kansas State at Oklahoma State/Notre Dame at Wake Forest on 11/5/11= 3.1 million and 0.9/3) by 5.6 million viewers and by 233% in young adults to deliver its 2nd-best numbers of the season on both Nielsen measures. In addition, "Saturday Night Football" was up over coverage on the year-ago night (4.7 million and 1.3/4 on 11/13/10) by 85% in Total Viewers and by 131% in Adults 18-49.
Sunday
Up against strong NFL-fueled competition on the evening from a high rated "Sunday Night Football" game (New England Patriots-NY Jets) on NBC and Fox's NFL-overrun boosted lineup, ABC grew its Adult 18-49 audience by 8% week to week (2.6/6 vs. 2.4/6), equaling a season high in the key young adult sales demo. The Net was up 4% over the same night last year with Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 on 11/14/10).
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
During the 7 o'clock hour, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" returned with strong gains over its most-recent telecast 3 weeks ago in viewers (+11% - 7.3 million vs. 6.6 million) and young adults (+13% - 1.7/4 vs. 1.5/4), hitting season highs with its best numbers since May - since 5/1/11 and 5/15/11, respectively. In addition, the ABC veteran series matched its highest Teen 12-17 number since January and its top Kids 2-11 number since early March - since 1/30/11 and 3/6/11, respectively.
· "America's Funniest Home Videos" was up over its year-ago telecast (7.1 million and 1.6/4) with viewers (+4%) and young adults (+6%).
"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
TV's No. 1 new drama in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" (3.8/9) jumped over its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+124%) opposite "Sunday Night Football" and Fox's NFL-overrun driven animated comedies to finish as the No. 1 non-sports show in its time period for the 4th time in as many telecasts. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., the Disney-owned freshman drama series beat out CBS' "Amazing Race" by 41% (2.7/6) and Fox's animated comedies by 41% (2.7/6) among Adults 18-49, while winning the time slot outright over "Sunday Night Football" across the Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). The new ABC drama once again registered as Sunday's No. 1 non-sports TV program among Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and across all key Women demos.
· "Once Upon a Time" produced big year-over-year increases for ABC in the hour, improving its slot by more than 2.9 million viewers and by 73% in Adults 18-49 from the year-ago night ("Home Edition" = 8.5 million and 2.2/6).
· Despite the NFL competition, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" equaled series highs with key Men (M18-34/M18-49).
"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (3.0/7) grew by 7% week to week to lead its entertainment competition by solid margins among Adults 18-49, outdelivering competing drama "The Good Wife" (2.0/5) by 50% (beating CBS in the hour for the 8th straight week) and Fox's animated comedies by 7% ("Family Guy"/"American Dad" = 2.8/6).
· In addition to building week to week in viewers (+6%) and young adults (+7%), "Housewives" marked best-since-premiere numbers with Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and Women 18-34.
"Pan Am" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Pan Am" bested its CBS drama competition among young Women, leading "CSI: Miami" by 20% with Women 18-34 (1.8/5 vs. 1.5/4).
· Drawing is biggest overall audience in 3 weeks (5.6 million), ABC's "Pan Am" rose week to week in Total Viewers (+18%), Adults 18-49 (+6%), Women 18-49 (+9%) and Women 25-54 (+15%).
Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 11/07/11.
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