ABC's Tuesday is Up Across the Board Year to Year

Finishing as the 2nd-most-watched broadcaster on Tuesday, ABC drew its biggest audience on the night in 5 weeks and its top young adult number in 6 weeks - since 11/29/11 and 11/22/11, respectively.

· ABC grew over the same night last year (also an all-original schedule) by 8% in Total Viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49.

At 8pm opposite an original of CBS' top-rated NCIS, ABC freshman Last Man Standing earned second place in its slot, beating out NBC's season premiere of Biggest Loser 13 by 1.5 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49.

· Last Man Standing was up over its most-recent original 3 weeks ago with Total Viewers (+5%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%).

Showing solid young adult lead-in retention out of Last Man Standing at 8:30pm (83%) opposite stiff competition, ABC's debut of Work It was up by double digits over the last episode of Man Up! in the half-hour with Total Viewers (+27%) and Adults 18-49 (+25%), beating the final 6 episodes of the comedy it replaced in the key young sales demo.

· Work It improved its half-hour for ABC by 11% in Adults 18-49 over original programming on the same night last year (second half-hour of No Ordinary Family).

Building on its lead-in by double-digit percentages, Celebrity Wife Swap outdelivered an original airing of V on the same night last year in both Adults 18-49 (+5%) and in Adults 18-34 (+8%).

· The new ABC series surged over its Monday preview across the key Men demos: M18-34 +22%, M18-49 +15% and M25-54 +33%.

Returning to original for the first time in 4 weeks, ABC's Body of Proof built on its lead-in (+17%) to outdraw NBC's Parenthood in the 10pm hour by 2.1 million viewers. In addition, Body of Proof was the only drama to increase its audience from start to finish in the hour, as CBS' Unforgettable and NBC's Parenthood each lost viewers on the half-hour.

· ABC's Body of Proof continued to deliver strong year-to-year improvement in the hour, surging by 35% in Total Viewers and by 25% in Adults 18-49 over an original Detroit 1-8-7 on the year-ago night.

Quick Take for Tuesday, January 3, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's New Tuesday Night Lineup Improves Across the Board Year to Year

Up Over its Most-Recent Original Airing, ABC Freshman "Last Man Standing" Beats NBC's Premiere of "Biggest Loser" by Wide Margins in Viewers and Young Adults

Showing Solid Lead-in Retention, ABC's Debut of "Work It" Posts Double-Digit Year-to-Year Growth in its Slot and is Up Sharply over the Comedy it Replaced

Building on its Lead-in, ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap" Tops an Original "V" on the Year-Ago Night in Young Adults and Grows from its Preview Across All Key Men

Gaining on its Lead-in at 10pm and Growing its Audience From Start to Finish, "Body of Proof" Continues to Produce Substantial Year-Over-Year Gains for ABC

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

Finishing as the 2nd-most-watched broadcaster on Tuesday, ABC drew its biggest audience (6.7 million) on the night in 5 weeks and its top young adult number (2.0/5) in 6 weeks - since 11/29/11 and 11/22/11, respectively.

· ABC grew over the same night last year (also an all-original schedule = 6.2 million and 1.7/5 on 1/4/11) by 8% in Total Viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49.

"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m. opposite an original of CBS' top-rated "NCIS," ABC freshman "Last Man Standing" earned second place in its slot, beating out NBC's season premiere of "The Biggest Loser 13" by 1.6 million viewers (7.9 million vs. 6.3 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.1/6).

· "Last Man Standing" was up over its most-recent original 3 weeks ago in Total Viewers (+5%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%).

"Work It" (8:30-9:30 p.m.)

Showing solid young adult lead-in retention out of "Last Man Standing" at 8:30 p.m. (83%) opposite stiff competition, ABC's debut of "Work It" was up by double digits over the last episode of "Man Up!" (on 12/6/11) in the half-hour with Total Viewers (+27% - 6.1 million vs. 4.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+25% - 2.0/5 vs. 1.6/4), beating the final 6 episodes of the comedy it replaced in the key young sales demo.

· "Work It" improved its half-hour for ABC by 11% in Adults 18-49 over original programming on the same night last year (second half-hour of "No Ordinary Family" = 1.8/5).

"Celebrity Wife Swap" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in by double-digit percentages, ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap" outdelivered an original airing of "V" on the same night last year in both Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.2/5 vs. 2.1/5) and in Adults 18-34 (+8% - 1.4/4 vs. 1.3/4).

· Despite facing stiff competition from championship college football on ESPN ("Allstate Sugar Bowl"), the new ABC series surged over its Monday preview across the key Men demos: M18-34 +22%, M18-49 +15% and M25-54 +33%.

"Body of Proof" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Returning to original for the first time in 4 weeks, ABC's "Body of Proof" built on its lead-in (+17% - 7.0 million vs. 6.0 million) to outdraw NBC's "Parenthood" (4.9 million) in the 10:00 p.m. hour by 2.1 million viewers. In addition, "Body of Proof" was the only drama to increase its audience from start to finish in the hour, as CBS' "Unforgettable" and NBC's "Parenthood" each lost viewers on the half-hour.

· ABC's "Body of Proof" continued to deliver strong year-to-year improvement in the hour, jumping by 35% in Total Viewers (7.0 million vs. 5.2 million) and by 25% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.2/3) over an original "Detroit 1-8-7" on the year-ago night.

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 2011. 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), 1/03/12.