ABC Posts Big Gains with its New Summer Tuesday Schedule

Some early info on ABC's Tuesday night, ahead of the regular press release.

ABC generated strong year to year improvement in Total Viewers (+2.9 million viewers) and Adults 18-49 (+62%) with its new Tuesday summer line-up, over the year-ago night. In fact, ABC was up in each hour of the evening.

ABC's 8-9pm season premiere of Wipeout ranked #1 in its time period among Adults 18-49, beating the opening hour or Fox's 2-hour Hell's Kitchen by 15%. The ABC unscripted series also won its hour and finished as the #1 TV show of the night with Adults 18-34 and Men 18-49. Wipeout was the #2 TV show of the evening in Adults 18-49, behind only NBC's Tuesday veteran American's Got Talent.

· In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Wipeout generated ABC's best summer numbers in the hour in nearly 2 years � since 7/29/08.

· Wipeout scored the series' best numbers since July 2008 (7/29/08) with Total Viewers and Adults 18-34 and since May 2009 with Adults 18-49 (5/27/09). The show equaled its highest-ever rating with Teens 12-17.

At 9pm stiff against established unscripted competition on NBC (opening hour America's Got Talent) and Fox (second hour of Hell's Kitchen), the series debut Downfall greatly improved the 9 o'clock hour for ABC year to year, surging 2.9 million viewers and by 67% in Adults 18-49 over the year-ago night.

In the 10 o'clock hour, the series premiere of ABC News' Primetime: Mind Games earned second place among Adults 18-49, to the second hour of NBC's 2-hour America's Got Talent. Primetime also finished #2 against its network competition in the hour among Adults 25-54 and Women 18-49.

· Primetime: Mind Games boosted the hour year to year for ABC by 18% in Total Viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49, over the year-ago night with original programming.

Quick Take for Tuesday, June 22, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's New Tuesday Summer Lineup is Up by 2.9 Million Viewers and By 62% in Adults 18-49 Over the Net's Year-Ago Performance

ABC's "Wipeout" Season Premiere is No. 1 at 8pm in Adults 18-49, Generating the Net's Best Numbers in Viewers and Young Adults in the Hour in Nearly 2 Years

"Wipeout" Marks its Best Performance in Viewers and Adults 18-34 Since July 2008, While Matching a Series High Among Teens 12-17

Series Debut of "Downfall" Improves ABC's Year-Ago Numbers By 2.9 Million Viewers and by 67% in Adults 18-49

"Primetime: Mind Games" Series Premiere Takes Second at 10pm in Adults 18-49, Boosting the Hour Year to Year by 18% in Viewers and Young Adults

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

ABC generated strong year-to-year improvement in Total Viewers (+2.9 million viewers - 6.4 million vs. 3.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+62% - 2.1/7 vs. 1.3/4) with its new Tuesday summer lineup over the year-ago night (6/23/09). In fact, ABC was up in each hour of the evening.

"Wipeout-TUES" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's 8:00-9:00 p.m. season premiere of "Wipeout" ranked No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49, beating the opening hour or Fox's 2-hour "Hell's Kitchen" by 15% (3.1/10 vs. 2.7/9). The ABC unscripted series also won its hour and finished as the No. 1 TV show of the night with Adults 18-34 (2.5/9) and Men 18-49 (2.9/10). "Wipeout" was the No. 2 TV show of the evening in Adults 18-49, behind only NBC's Tuesday veteran, "America's Got Talent."

· In Total Viewers (9.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/10), "Wipeout" generated ABC's best summer numbers in the hour in nearly 2 years - since 7/29/08.

· "Wipeout" scored the series' best numbers since July 2008 (7/29/08) with Total Viewers and Adults 18-34, and since May 2009 with Adults 18-49 (5/27/09). The show equaled its highest-ever rating with Teens 12-17 (2.7/11).

"Downfall" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Against stiff established unscripted competition on NBC (opening hour of "America's Got Talent") and Fox (second hour of "Hell's Kitchen"), the series debut of "Downfall" greatly improved the hour for ABC year to year, surging by 2.9 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 3.0 million) and by 67% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.2/4) over the year-ago night.

"Primetime: Mind Games" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the 10 o'clock hour, the series premiere of ABC News' "Primetime: Mind Games" earned second place among Adults 18-49 (1.3/4) to the second hour of NBC's 2-hour "America's Got Talent." "Primetime: Mind Games" also finished No. 2 against its network competition in the hour among Adults 25-54 (1.5/4) and Women 18-49 (1.5/4).

· "Primetime: Mind Games" boosted the hour year to year for ABC by 18% in Total Viewers (3.9 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.1/3) over the year-ago night with original programming.

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 37% currently, from 32% 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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 6/22/10.