ABC Hits a Sunday Season High and Grows Year to Year in Adults 18-49

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

Up against strong NFL-fueled competition on the evening from a high rated Sunday Night Football game (New England Patriots-NY Jets) on NBC and Fox's NFL-overrun boosted lineup, ABC grew its Adult 18-49 audience by 8% week to week, equaling a season high in the key young adult sales demo. The Net was up 4% over the same night last year with Adults 18-49.

At 7pm, ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos returned with strong gains over its most-recent telecast 3 weeks ago in viewers (+11%) and young adults (+13%), hitting season highs with its best numbers since May - since 5/1/11 and 5/15/11, respectively. In addition, the ABC veteran series matched its highest Teen 12-17 number since January and its top Kids 2-11 number since early March - since 1/30/11 and 3/6/11, respectively.

· America's Funniest Home Videos was up over its year-ago telecast with viewers (+4%) and young adults (+6%).

TV's #1 new drama in Adults 18-49, ABC's Once Upon a Time jumped over its lead-in at 8pm (+124%) opposite Sunday Night Football and Fox's NFL-overrun driven animated comedies to finish as the #1 non-sports show in its time period for the 4th time in as many telecasts. From 8-9pm, the Disney-owned freshman drama series beat out CBS' Amazing Race by 41% and Fox's animated comedies by 41% among Adults 18-49, while winning the time slot outright over Sunday Night Football across the Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). The new ABC drama once again registered as Sunday's #1 non-sports TV program among Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and across all key Women demos.

· Once Upon a Time produced big year-over-year increases for ABC in the hour, improving its slot by more than 2.8 million viewers and by 73% in Adults 18-49 from the year-ago night.

· ABC's Once Upon a Time was up over its week-ago Fast Affiliate Adult 18-49 number (+3%), while tying a series best with Men 18-49.

During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's Desperate Housewives grew by 7% week to week to lead its entertainment competition by wide margins among Adults 18-49, outdelivering competing drama The Good Wife by 50% (beating CBS in the hour for the 8th straight week) and Fox's animated comedies by 11% (Family Guy/American Dad).

· In addition to building week to week in viewers (+5%) and young adults (+7%), Housewives marked best-since-premiere numbers with Women 18-34 and Adults 25-54.

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's Pan Am bested its CBS drama competition among key demos, leading CSI: Miami by 8% with Adults 18-34 and by 20% with Women 18-34.

· Drawing is biggest overall audience in 3 weeks, ABC's Pan Am rose week to week in Total Viewers (+10%), Adults 18-49 (+6%), Women 18-49 (+9%) and Women 25-54 (+15%).

Quick Take for Sunday, November 13, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Against NFL-Fueled Competition, ABC Marks a Sunday Season High in Adults 18-49

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" Scores its Strongest Numbers Since May

TV's No. 1 New Drama Series, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Finishes as Sunday's No. 1 Non-Sports TV Show in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, While Generating Best-Since-Premiere Results with Adults 25-54 and Women 18-34

Attracting its Biggest Audience in 3 Weeks, ABC's "Pan Am" Builds in Key Demos

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Up against strong NFL-fueled competition on the evening from a high rated "Sunday Night Football" game (New England Patriots-NY Jets) on NBC and Fox's NFL-overrun boosted lineup, ABC grew its Adult 18-49 audience by 8% week to week (2.6/6 vs. 2.4/6), equaling a season high in the key young adult sales demo. The Net was up 4% over the same night last year with Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 on 11/14/10).

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

During the 7 o'clock hour, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" returned with strong gains over its most-recent telecast 3 weeks ago in viewers (+11% - 7.3 million vs. 6.6 million) and young adults (+13% - 1.7/4 vs. 1.5/4), hitting season highs with its best numbers since May - since 5/1/11 and 5/15/11, respectively. In addition, the ABC veteran series matched its highest Teen 12-17 number since January and its top Kids 2-11 number since early March - since 1/30/11 and 3/6/11, respectively.

· "America's Funniest Home Videos" was up over its year-ago telecast (7.1 million and 1.6/4) with viewers (+4%) and young adults (+6%).

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

TV's No. 1 new drama in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" (3.8/9) jumped over its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+124%) opposite "Sunday Night Football" and Fox's NFL-overrun driven animated comedies to finish as the No. 1 non-sports show in its time period for the 4th time in as many telecasts. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., the Disney-owned freshman drama series beat out CBS' "Amazing Race" by 41% (2.7/6) and Fox's animated comedies by 41% (2.7/6) among Adults 18-49, while winning the time slot outright over "Sunday Night Football" across the Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). The new ABC drama once again registered as Sunday's No. 1 non-sports TV program among Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and across all key Women demos.

· "Once Upon a Time" produced big year-over-year increases for ABC in the hour, improving its slot by more than 2.8 million viewers and by 73% in Adults 18-49 from the year-ago night ("Home Edition" = 8.5 million and 2.2/6).

· ABC's "Once Upon a Time" was up over its week-ago Fast Affiliate Adult 18-49 number (+3%), while tying a series best with Men 18-49.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (3.0/7) grew by 7% week to week to lead its entertainment competition by wide margins among Adults 18-49, outdelivering competing drama "The Good Wife" (2.0/4) by 50% (beating CBS in the hour for the 8th straight week) and Fox's animated comedies by 11% ("Family Guy"/"American Dad" = 2.7/6).

· In addition to building week to week in viewers (+5%) and young adults (+7%), "Housewives" marked best-since-premiere numbers with Women 18-34 and Adults 25-54.

"Pan Am" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Pan Am" bested its CBS drama competition among key demos, leading "CSI: Miami" by 8% with Adults 18-34 (1.3/4 vs. 1.2/3) and by 20% with Women 18-34 (1.8/5 vs. 1.5/4).

· Drawing is biggest overall audience in 3 weeks (5.7 million), ABC's "Pan Am" rose week to week in Total Viewers (+10%), Adults 18-49 (+6%), Women 18-49 (+9%) and Women 25-54 (+15%).

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 43% 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), 11/13/11.