ABC Continues to See Strong Gains with its New Tuesday Schedule

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

For the 2nd week in a row with its new Tuesday night lineup, ABC scored strong gains over the same night last year (also an all-original schedule), surging by double digits in Total Viewers (+15%) and Adults 18-49 (+27%). In fact, each of the Net's programs on the evening improved their respective time periods year over year with young adults. ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on Tuesday evening.

At 8pm against a first-run installment of CBS' top-rated NCIS, ABC freshman Last Man Standing ranked #2 in its slot among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, topping NBC's The Biggest Loser 13 by 1.5 million viewers.

· Last Man Standing marked a 5-week high with Adults 18-34 and hit a 12-week high with Teens 12-17 - since 12/6/11 and 10/18/11, respectively.

· The ABC comedy boosted its time slot year to year by 44% in viewers and by 47% in young adults.

At 8:30pm, ABC's Work It continued to grow its half-hour year to year for ABC, improving by 7% in Adults 18-49 over original programming on the same night last year (second half-hour of No Ordinary Family).

· Work It showed strong retention of its week-earlier series debut in the 18-34 measures, holding 91% in Adults 18-34, 92% in Women 18-34 and 100% in Men 18-34.

Jumping over its lead-in at 9pm among Adults 18-49 (+31%), ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap improved its hour by 11% year to year over an original V on the year-ago night. The ABC unscripted series gained viewers and young adults from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

· Versus its premiere in the time period the prior week, Celebrity Wife held 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience and increased over its premiere with Adults 18-34 (+14%) and Women 18-34 (+17%).

Building sharply on its lead-in at 10pm (+32%), ABC's Body of Proof topped NBC's Parenthood during the hour by 2.1 million viewers.

· ABC's Body of Proof once again produced substantial year-to-year improvement in the time period, jumping by 35% in Total Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49 over an original Detroit 1-8-7 on the year-ago night.

· Building week to week in Adults 18-49 (+7%) and Adults 18-34 (+13%), Body of Proof generated its strongest performance since November - since 11/29/11.

Quick Take for Tuesday, January 10, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Continues to See Strong Year-Over-Year Improvement on Tuesday Night

Taking Second in its Half-Hour, ABC Freshman "Last Man Standing" Boosts Its Time Slot by Wide Margins Year to Year with Viewers and Young Adults

ABC's "Work It" Shows Strong Retention of its Debut in Key Young Adult Demos And Continues to Improve its Time Period Year Over Year with Adults 18-49

Jumping Over its Lead-in at 9pm, ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap" Holds 100% of its Week-Ago Premiere Adult 18-49 Audience and Grows by 14% Among Adults 18-34

Delivering Huge Gains for ABC in the 10pm Hour from the Same Night Last Year, "Body of Proof" Produces its Strongest Young Adult Performance Since November

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

For the 2nd week in a row with its new Tuesday night lineup, ABC scored strong gains over the same night last year (also an all-original schedule on 1/11/11), surging by double digits in Total Viewers (+15% - 6.2 million vs. 5.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+27% - 1.9/5 vs. 1.5/4). In fact, each of the Net's programs on the evening improved their respective time periods year over year with young adults. ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network on Tuesday evening.

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

At 8:00 p.m. against a first-run installment of CBS' top-rated "NCIS," ABC freshman "Last Man Standing" ranked No. 2 in its slot among Total Viewers (7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/6), topping NBC's "The Biggest Loser 13" (6.4 million) by 1.5 million viewers.

· "Last Man Standing" marked a 5-week high with Adults 18-34 and hit a 12-week high with Teens 12-17 (tie) - since 12/6/11 and 10/18/11, respectively.

· The ABC comedy boosted its time slot year to year by 44% in viewers and by 47% in young adults (5.5 million and 1.5/4 on 1/11/11).

"Work It" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:30 p.m., "Work It" continued to grow its half-hour year to year for ABC, improving by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.5/4) over original programming on the same night last year (second half-hour of "No Ordinary Family").

· "Work It" showed strong retention of its week-earlier series debut in the 18-34 measures, holding 91% in Adults 18-34, 92% in Women 18-34 and 100% in Men 18-34.

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

Jumping over its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. among Adults 18-49 (+31%), ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap" improved its hour by 11% year to year over an original "V" last year (2.1/5 vs. 1.9/5). The ABC unscripted series gained viewers and young adults from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

· Versus its premiere in the time period the prior week, "Celebrity Wife Swap" held 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience and increased over its premiere with Adults 18-34 (+14%) and Women 18-34 (+17%).

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

Building sharply on its lead-in at 10:00 p.m. (+33%), ABC's "Body of Proof" topped NBC's "Parenthood" during the hour by 2.1 million viewers (6.9 million vs. 4.8 million).

· ABC's "Body of Proof" once again produced substantial year-to-year improvement in the time period, jumping by 35% in Total Viewers (6.9 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 60% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.0/3) over an original "Detroit 1-8-7" on the year-ago night.

· Building week to week in Adults 18-49 (+7%) and Adults 18-34 (+13%), "Body of Proof" generated its strongest performance since November on both measures - since 11/29/11.

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 (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 1/10/12.