For 2nd Straight Week, ABC Wins Monday and Castle Hits New Highs

Some highlights for ABC's Monday night, ahead of the regular ratings release.

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC won Monday night (and all 6 half-hours of primetime), leading its nearest competition on the evening (CBS) by 11.6 million viewers (19.9 million vs. 8.3 million) and by 75% in Adults 18-49 (4.9/14 vs. 2.8/8). ABC was up over the year-ago Monday by 3.1 million viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (16.8 million and 4.1/11 on 3/30/09). In fact over the past 2 weeks, ABC has delivered the Top 2 most-watched non-sports Mondays for any network in more than 3 years - since 1/15/07.

ABC's Dancing with the Stars registered as Monday's #1 TV program for the 2nd straight week with Total Viewers (22.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.5/15). Building steadily throughout its broadcast, DWTS soared to the top of its time period with viewers and young adults, drawing a bigger overall audience than CBS, NBC, Fox and CW combined (4-nets combined = 22.3 million). Excluding only premieres and finales, DWTS produced its 2nd-most-watched installment ever (pacing within 290k viewers of the show's biggest-ever non-premiere/non-finale audience).

For the 2nd consecutive week, ABC's Castle finished #1 in the 10 o'clock hour and achieved new series highs in both Total Viewers (14.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/10). The ABC sophomore drama overshadowed its original drama competition in the hour on NBC, more than doubling the overall audience of veteran Law & Order and leading by 106% in Adults 18-49 (L&O = 6.0 million and 1.8/5). Shooting up over its performance on the year-ago night in Total Viewers (+59%) and Adults 18-49 (+54%), Castle marked the series' highest-ever numbers for its 2nd straight airing.

Quick Take for Monday, March 29, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on Monday for the 2nd Consecutive Week

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Wins Each of its Half-Hours and is Monday's No. 1 Program in Viewers and Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Straight Week

"DWTS" Draws a Larger Overall Audience From 8-10pm Than CBS, NBC, Fox and CW Combined

"Castle" Wins the 10 O'clock Hour and Hits Series Highs in Viewers and Young Adults for the 2nd Week in a Row

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

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC won Monday night (and all 6 half-hours of primetime), leading its nearest competition on the evening (CBS) by 11.6 million viewers (19.9 million vs. 8.3 million) and by 75% in Adults 18-49 (4.9/14 vs. 2.8/8). ABC was up over the year-ago Monday by 3.1 million viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (16.8 million and 4.1/11 on 3/30/09). In fact over the past 2 weeks, ABC has delivered the Top 2 most-watched non-sports Mondays for any network in more than 3 years - since 1/15/07.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" registered as Monday's No. 1 TV program for the 2nd straight week with Total Viewers (22.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.5/15). Building steadily throughout its broadcast, "DWTS" soared to the top of its time period with viewers and young adults, drawing a bigger overall audience than CBS, NBC, Fox and CW combined (4-nets combined = 22.3 million). Excluding only premieres and finales, "DWTS" produced its 2nd-most-watched installment ever (pacing within 290k viewers of the show's biggest-ever non-premiere/non-finale audience).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

The conclusion of an explosive two-part "Castle" finished No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour and achieved new series highs in both Total Viewers (14.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), taking the top spot for the 2nd consecutive week. The ABC sophomore drama overshadowed its original drama competition in the hour on NBC, more than doubling the overall audience of veteran "Law & Order" and leading by 106% in Adults 18-49 ("L&O" = 6.0 million and 1.8/5). Shooting up over its performance on the year-ago night in Total Viewers (+59%) and Adults 18-49 (+54%), "Castle" marked the series' highest-ever numbers for its 2nd straight airing.

� "Castle" delivered ABC's biggest audience in the time period with a regular scripted series telecast since 1996 and its top Adult 18-49 number since 2001 - since 4/22/96 and 5/5/03, respectively.

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 36% currently, from 30% at the same point in 2009. 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: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 3/29/10.