ABC Leads Monday's Viewer Count for the 4th Straight Week this Season

Some early info on ABC's Monday's preliminary numbers, ahead of the regular press release.

With Dancing and Castle, ABC led the Monday pack in Total Viewers for the 4th week in a row, outdrawing CBS by 4.0 million viewers (HIMYM/2 Broke Girls/Two and a Half Men/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0), Fox by 6.5 million viewers (MLB ALCS Game 2 - Detroit vs. Texas) and NBC by 11.3 million viewers (2-hour The Sing Off/Prime Suspect).

Please Note: ABC was pre-empted in Detroit for local coverage of ESPN's Monday Night Football game (Lions-Bears), so the Fast Affiliate numbers are subject to change once the National ratings are issued this afternoon.

Gaining audience throughout its broadcast against CBS' Two and a Half Men-led comedy block and Fox's Major League Baseball Playoffs from 8-10pm, Dancing with the Stars made ABC the top draw in its time slot for the 4th consecutive week, topping CBS' comedies (+5.2 million), Fox's baseball (+8.4 million) and NBC's The Sing Off (+12.7 million). In addition, ABC's broad-appealing dancing performance show earned second place in the slot with young adults, W18-34 and W18-49, while ranking #1 with W25-54. Head to head against its unscripted competition in the 2-hour time slot, ABC's Dancing outdelivered NBC's The Sing Off by a wide margin in Adults 18-49 (+121%).

· Topping CBS' Two and a Half Men for the first time this season, ABC's DWTS stood as the Monday's most-watched broadcast.

For the 4th time in as many weeks this season, ABC's Castle stood as the most-watched scripted TV program during Monday's 10pm hour, leading CBS' Hawaii Five-0.

· ABC's Castle grew its overall audience from the same night last year, gaining viewers year to year for its 4th consecutive telecast this season.

Quick Take for Monday, October 10, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on Monday in Total Viewers for the 4th Week in a Row

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Outdraws CBS' "Two and a Half Men" To Stand as Monday's Most-Watched Broadcast

ABC's "Castle" is the Most-Watched Scripted Series at 10pm, Topping CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" for the 4th Consecutive Week

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

With "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC led the Monday pack in Total Viewers (15.1 million) for the 4th week in a row, outdrawing CBS by 4.0 million viewers (11.1 million - "HIMYM"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Two and a Half Men"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0"), Fox by 6.5 million viewers (8.6 million - MLB ALCS Game 2 - Detroit vs. Texas/"Terra Nova") and NBC by 11.3 million viewers (3.8 million - 2-hour "The Sing Off"/"Prime Suspect").

Please Note: ABC was pre-empted in Detroit for local coverage of ESPN's "Monday Night Football" game (Lions-Bears), so the Fast Affiliate numbers are subject to change once the National ratings are issued this afternoon.

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

Gaining audience throughout its broadcast against CBS' "Two and a Half Men-" led comedy block and Fox's Major League Baseball Playoffs/"Terra Nova" from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m., "Dancing with the Stars" (17.0 million) made ABC the top draw in its time slot for the 4th consecutive week, topping CBS' comedies by 5.2 million viewers (11.8 million), Fox's baseball/"Terra Nova" by 8.4 million viewers (8.6 million) and NBC's "The Sing Off" by 12.7 million viewers (3.8 million). In addition, ABC's broad-appealing dancing performance show earned second place in the slot with young adults, W18-34 and W18-49, while ranking No. 1 with W25-54. Head to head against its unscripted competition in the 2-hour time slot, ABC's "Dancing" outdelivered NBC's "The Sing Off" by a wide margin in Adults 18-49 (+121% - 3.1/8 vs. 1.4/4).

· Topping CBS' "Two and a Half Men" for the first time this season, ABC's "DWTS" stood as the Monday's most-watched broadcast (17.0 million vs. 15.9 million).

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

For the 4th time in as many weeks this season, ABC's "Castle" stood as the most-watched scripted TV program during Monday's 10:00 p.m. hour, leading CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" (11.2 million vs. 9.7 million).

· ABC's "Castle" grew its overall audience from the same night last year, gaining viewers year to year for its 4th consecutive telecast this season (10.7 million on 10/11/10).

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 42% currently, from 38% 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), 10/10/11.