ABC Wins Valentine's Day with Women

Some early points on ABC's Monday night, ahead of the regular press release.

Against CBS' all-original schedule and the second week of Fox's new Monday line-up (House/The Chicago Code), ABC took second place in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while winning the evening for the 4th week in a row across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

Please note: With the Valentine's Day holiday disrupting normal television viewing patterns, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage on Monday night was off by -6% from the prior week (35.0% vs. 37.3%).

Gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC's The Bachelor earned second place in its time slot with viewers and young adults, outdelivering Fox's Monday line-up (House/The Chicago Code). In fact during its second hour from 9-10pm, The Bachelor outdelivered Fox's House-driven The Chicago Code by 32% in Total Viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49. The Bachelor once again finished #1 in its 2-hour time period among Adults 18-34 (3rd straight week) and across all key Women (4th straight week). In addition, the ABC veteran unscripted show qualified as Monday's #1 TV series with key Women (W18-34/W18-49) for the 7th week running.

During the 10 o'clock hour against original drama competition on CBS (Hawaii Five-0) and NBC (Harry's Law), ABC's Castle ran #1 with Women 18-34 for its 4th straight telecast. In addition, ABC's Castle continued to draw a larger overall audience than Harry's Law and defeated the NBC drama by a strong 29% in Adults 18-49.

Quick Take for Monday, February 14, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Wins Valentine's Day Monday Across All Key Women Demographics

"The Bachelor" Leads its Time Period in Adults 18-34 and All Key Women, Ranking as Monday's No. 1 Series in Women 18-34 and Women 18-49 for the 7th Straight Week

Building Hour to Hour, "The Bachelor" Beats Fox's "The Chicago Code" At 9pm by 32% in Total Viewers and 50% in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Castle" Beats NBC's "Harry's Law" in Viewers and Young Adults, Ranking No. 1 Among Women 18-34 for the 4th Consecutive Telecast

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

Against CBS' all-original schedule and the second week of Fox's new Monday lineup ("House"/"The Chicago Code"), ABC took second place in Total Viewers (9.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8), while winning the evening for the 4th week in a row across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

Please note: With the Valentine's Day holiday disrupting normal television viewing patterns, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage on Monday night was off by -6% from the prior week (35.0% vs. 37.3%).

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

Gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC's "The Bachelor" earned second place in its time slot with viewers (9.3 million) and young adults (2.9/8), outdelivering Fox's Monday lineup ("House"/"The Chicago Code" - 8.6 million & 2.7/8). In fact during its second hour from 9:00-10:00 p.m., "The Bachelor" outdelivered Fox's "House"-driven "The Chicago Code" by 32% in Total Viewers (9.6 million vs. 7.3 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/8 vs. 2.0/5).

· "The Bachelor" once again finished No. 1 in its 2-hour time period among Adults 18-34 (3rd straight week) and across all key Women (4th straight week). In addition, the ABC veteran unscripted show qualified as Monday's No. 1 TV series with key Women (W18-34/W18-49) for the 7th week running.

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

During the 10 o'clock hour against original drama competition on CBS ("Hawaii Five-0") and NBC ("Harry's Law"), ABC's "Castle" ran No. 1 with Women 18-34 (2.3/8) for its 4th straight telecast. In addition, ABC's "Castle" continued to draw a larger overall audience (8.8 million vs. 8.5 million) than "Harry's Law" and defeated the NBC drama by a strong 29% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.7/5).

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 39% currently, from 35% at the same point in 2010. 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), 2/14/11.