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Primetime Ratings Report
For the week of December 7, 2009
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC is Up Over the Year-Ago Week with Viewers and Young Adults,
Qualifying as the Only Net to Grow its Adult 18-49 Rating Year to Year
Among Adults 18-49 for the Week, ABC Airs TV's No. 1 Holiday Special with
"Disney Prep & Landing" and the No. 1 Freshman Series with "Modern Family"
Monday at 8pm, ABC's Repeat of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" Beats
Fox's Original "Carrie Underwood" Holiday Special Among Adults 18-49
Building Sharply on its Lead-in Monday at 10pm, ABC's "Castle" Defeats
NBC's "Leno" in the Hour by 3.1 Million Viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49
Up Year to Year in Viewers, ABC's Replay "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Places
A Strong No. 2 to "Biggest Loser" in Adults 18-49 and Dominates in Kids 2-11
TV's No. 1 Holiday Special This Season in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's Debut
Of "Disney Prep & Landing" Marks TV's Top Kids 2-11 Broadcast in Nearly 2 Years
Opposite the "Biggest Loser" Season Finale, "Scrubs" Grows from its Week-Ago Season Opener in Viewers and Young Adults, Ranking No. 2 at 9pm in Key Men
Topping its Previous 7 Original Telecasts, "Better Off Ted" Premieres
With its Strongest Numbers Since April in Viewers and Young Adults
ABC's "The Middle" Tops its Slot in Viewers and Young Adults, with
Its Biggest Audience Since its Debut and a Series-High in Adults 18-34
With its Strongest Performance in 10 Weeks, ABC's "Modern Family"
Wins its Half-Hour, Beating Out CBS' "Criminal Minds" in Adults 18-49
"Cougar Town's" Numbers Surge Over its Most Recent Original Airing
"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009"
Produces ABC's 2nd-Biggest Numbers in the Time Period This Season
"Ugly Betty" Posts Best-Since-Premiere Numbers on Friday Night
Winning Friday's 10pm Hour Across the Board, ABC News' "20/20"
Finishes No. 1 in its Time Slot with Adults 18-49 for 7 Weeks in a Row
Opposite CBS' NFL Overrun, "AFV" Attracts its Biggest Audience in 9 Months
Sunday's Most-Watched Entertainment Program, "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special" Draws ABC's 2nd-Biggest Audience in the Hour this Season
WEEK No. 12:
During the week of December 7, 2009, ABC grew its numbers over the same week last year in Total Viewers (+8% - 6.8 million vs. 6.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.9/5), registering as the only major network to improve in the key young adult sales demographic.
Rankings: ABC aired 3 of the week's Top 15 TV programs among Adults 18-49, including TV's No. 1 holiday program this season with the debut of "Disney Prep & Landing" and the No. 1 freshman series with "Modern Family": "Disney Prep & Landing" � No. 8, "Modern Family" � No. 12 and "Charlie Brown Christmas" � No. 13. During the week, "Prep & Landing" also emerged as the most-watched holiday program overall this season. The new Disney holiday special scored the highest Kids 2-11 number for any TV telecast this season, and excluding only Super Bowls, the top since January 2008.
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 34% currently, from 28% at the same point in 2008. 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.
Monday
"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC's rebroadcast of the animated holiday classic "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" finished a strong No. 2 in during Monday's 8 o'clock hour with Adults 18-49 (2.5/7) to CBS' original comedies, beating Fox's original "Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special" in the key young adult sales demo (2.4/6). "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" overshadowed its competition in the hour with Kids 2-11, topping the combined delivery of CBS, Fox, NBC and CW by 44% (3.9/13 vs. 2.7/9), and finished as the No. 1 TV show of the night.
"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in at 10:00 p.m. by 2.6 million viewers and by 40% in Adults 18-49 and gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC's "Castle" placed a strong No. 2 in the hour to CBS' original "CSI: Miami," beating out NBC's "Jay Leno" by 3.1 million viewers (7.8 million vs. 4.7 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 vs. 1.4/4).
� One of TV's biggest gainers in the 10 o'clock hour this season, ABC's "Castle" is generating substantial increases over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, picking up an average 1.8 million viewers and an additional 6-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+25%) from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
Tuesday
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
Against competition including the season finale of NBC's "Biggest Loser," ABC's rebroadcast of the animated holiday classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" finished a strong No. 2 in its half-hour in Adults 18-49 (3.7/11), beating slot-regulars CBS' "NCIS" replay by 37% (2.7/8) and Fox's original "So You Think You Can Dance" by 61% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7). The Charlie Brown special towered over its slot with Kids 2-11, topping the combined delivery of CBS, Fox, NBC and CW in the half-hour by 42% (5.9/18 vs. 4.2/13), and finished as the No. 2 TV show of the night behind only its lead-out, ABC's debut of "Prep & Landing."
� The Peanuts special was up year to year in Total Viewers and held even with Adults 18-49 (11.0 million and 3.7/10 on 12/8/08).
"Disney Prep & Landing" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in opposite a growing "Biggest Loser," ABC's debut of "Disney Prep & Landing" earned a strong second to "Loser" at 8:30 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (4.1/11), topping "NCIS" by 41% (2.9/8) and Fox's "Dance" by 71% (2.4/6). "Prep & Landing" is ABC's first television special produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The holiday special reveals the never-before-told tale of an elite unit of Elves known as "Prep & Landing." In fact the new Disney holiday special stood as the No. 2 TV program of the night with Adults 18-49, behind only the 2-hour season closer of "Biggest Loser."
� "Prep & Landing" (12.0 million and 4.1/11) emerged as the TV's No. 1 holiday special this season with viewers and young adults, topping CBS' week-earlier airing of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (10.6 million and 3.8/11 on 12/2/09).
� In addition to standing as Tuesday's definitive No. 1 TV show with Kids 2-11 (7.5/23), "Prep & Landing" delivered the highest kids rating for any primetime telecast on broadcast TV so far this season. In fact excluding only Super Bowl telecasts, it was the top Kids 2-11 number for any primetime broadcast in nearly 2 years � since 1/15/08, with the season premiere of Fox's "American Idol."
� "Prep & Landing" greatly improved the slot year to year for ABC by 4.8 million viewers and by 105% in Adults 18-49 over the year-ago evening with an original "AFV" special (7.2 million and 2.0/5).
"Scrubs" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
In the 9:00 p.m. half-hour opposite the "Biggest Loser" finale, ABC's "Scrubs" jumped over its week-ago season premiere by 17% in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 4.6 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 2.0/5). "Scrubs" finished No. 2 in the half-hour to the veteran NBC unscripted series with key Men: M18-34 (2.3/7) and M18-49 (2.3/6).
"Better Off Ted" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)
On its season premiere at 9:30 p.m., ABC's "Better Off Ted" topped its previous 7 original telecasts, drawing its biggest audience (3.8 million) and top Adult 18-49 (1.5/4) number since April (4/22/09).
Wednesday
ABC took second place on Wednesday night in Total Viewers (9.0 million) and finished in a virtual tie with CBS for No. 1 on the evening in Adults18-49, pacing within one-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share (3.0/8 vs. 3.1/8). The Network ranked No. 1 on the night with key Men: M18-34 (2.1/7) and M18-49 (2.5/7-tie).
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC posted its 2nd-strongest results on the night since season-premiere Wednesday � behind only the night of the "CMA Awards" on 11/11/09.
� ABC's Wednesday numbers surged over the year-ago night by 3.3 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (5.7 million and 2.0/5 on 12/10/08, with an original line-up)
"Shrek the Halls" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
ABC's second replay this season of "Shrek the Halls" won the 8:00 p.m. half-hour in Total Viewers (8.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/8).
"The Middle" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Like its lead-in, ABC's "The Middle" took top honors in its half-hour with Total Viewers (7.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.4/7-tie).
� Registering its 2nd straight week of gains with viewers and young adults, the new ABC comedy drew its biggest audience since its series debut � since its premiere telecast on 9/30/09. "The Middle" garnered a series-high with Adults 18-34 (2.1/6).
"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
ABC's "Modern Family" won the 9:00 p.m. half-hour in Adults 18-49 (3.8/10), beating out CBS' original "Criminal Minds" in the key young adult sales demo (3.7/10). Additionally, the ABC freshman comedy dominated its slot and stood as the definitive No. 1 TV show on Wednesday in key Men: M18-34 (3.4/10) and M18-49 (3.5/9).
� "Modern Family" generated its biggest audience (9.6 million) and top Adult 18-49 number (3.8/10) in 10 weeks � since 9/30/09. The show marked the series' highest-ever ratings with Adults 18-34 (3.5/10), Men 18-34 (3.4/10) and Men 18-49 (3.5/10).
"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:01 p.m.)
Opposite stiff all-original competition, including the second half-hours of CBS' "Criminal Minds," Fox's "Glee" and NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," ABC's "Cougar Town" ranked No. 2 at 9:30 p.m. with Adults 18-34 (2.4/7-tie) and Men 18-34 (1.9/6).
� Returning to original after a repeat the prior week, "Cougar Town" jumped over its most recent original airing (11/25/09) by 1.5 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 5.5 million) and by 47% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 1.9/6).
"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
In the final hour of primetime, ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" took a strong second with Total Viewers (10.6 million) and ran in a near-tie for first place with CBS' original veteran drama "CSI: NY" among Adults 18-49 (3.1/9 vs. 3.2/9). The annual special won the hour by 20% among Adults 18-34 over "CSI: NY" (2.4/7 vs. 2.0/6). First Lady Michelle Obama was named the most fascinating person of 2009.
� "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" overshadowed the two-weeks-earlier airing of "NBC's People of the Year" with host Matt Lauer by 5.4 million viewers and by 121% in Adults 18-49 (5.2 million and 1.4/4 on 11/26/09).
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, the Barbara Walters special generated ABC's 2nd-biggest numbers in the hour this season � behind only "CMA Awards" in the time period on 11/11/09.
Friday
Growing week to week in viewers (+1.0 million) and young adults (+17%), ABC took second place on Friday night in Total Viewers (5.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.4/5), while ranking No. 1 with Women 18-49 (1.9/6-tie).
"Ugly Betty" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in, ABC's "Ugly Betty" earned second place in the 9 o'clock hour with viewers (4.7 million) and young adults (1.3/4) and finished No. 1 against its network rivals with Women 18-34 (1.6/5).
� In Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Ugly Betty" turned in best-since-season-premiere results (10/16/09).
� On Friday night, "Betty" is producing sizeable gains over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, picking up an average 17% more overall Total Viewers and jumping 33% in Adults 18-49 from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in among viewers (+2.7 million) and young adults (+31%), ABC's "20/20" won Friday's 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (7.4 million), Adults 18-49 (1.7/5) and Adults 25-54 (2.4/7). In fact the ABC newsmagazine ranked No. 1 during Friday's 10 o'clock hour for the 7th straight week with Adults 18-49.
Sunday
Opposite NFL driven NBC (Eagles-NY Giants) and CBS (Cowboys-Chargers primetime overrun), ABC continued to beat out its non-sports boosted competition on Sunday, defeating Fox's original Sunday lineup by 5.0 million viewers (10.3 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 12% in Adults18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.5/6).
� ABC's Sunday numbers jumped over the year-ago night by 2.4 million viewers and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (7.9 million and 2.3/6 on 12/14/08).
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Opposite CBS' big NFL overrun in the 7 o'clock hour, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" beat out its non-sports competition on Fox ("Brothers"/"Brothers") by 6.7 million viewers (8.7 million vs. 2.0 million) and by 175% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 0.8/2).
� Despite the substantial NFL competition from CBS in the slot, "AFV" generated the series' biggest audience in over 9 months � since 3/1/09.
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Gaining viewers and young adults throughout its 2-hour telecast against NBC's Eagles-Giants game, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" improved the time period over the same evening last year (12/14/08) by 1.5 million viewers (10.3 million vs. 8.8 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 2.7/6).
"Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special" registered as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program (12.0 million).
� The Oprah special generated ABC's 2nd-largest audience in the hour this season � behind only the final hour of the "2009 American Music Awards" on 11/22/09.
Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 12/7/09, unless stated otherwise.
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