ABC Grows and "Modern Family" Scores its Best-Ever Results Against "Idol"

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

Up against the 2-hour season premiere of Fox's American Idol, ABC posted a strong second-place finish on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49, beating out third-place CBS by 20% and fourth-place NBC by 100%.

· The Net grew by double digits over the year-ago Wednesday against the Idol premiere (1/19/11) in both Total Viewers (+13%) and Adults 18-49 (+11%), registering its 3rd consecutive year of gains opposite the Idol opener on the evening.

At 8pm, ABC's The Middle defeated its non-Idol competition by wide margins in Adults 18-49 and dominated its comedy competition. The Middle outperformed NBC's Whitney in the half-hour by 3.9 million viewers and by 63% with young adults.

· The Middle equaled its highest-ever Adult 18-49 numbers against an American Idol telecast.

Like its lead-in, ABC's Suburgatory finished as the dominant #1 scripted show at 8:30pm among Adults 18-49 and toppled its freshman comedy competition on NBC. On their 2nd head-to-head matchup in the slot, Suburgatory widened its winning advantage over NBC's Are You There, Chelsea? to 63% in Total Viewers and 39% in Adults 18-49.

· Suburgatory lifted its time period for ABC over the year-ago Wednesday against the Idol premiere by 9% in Total Viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49.

Standing as the definitive #1 scripted TV program on Wednesday among Adults 18-49, ABC's Modern Family doubled its lead-in against the third half-hour of Idol at 9pm, towering over its closest scripted competition in its time slot (+61% over CBS' original Criminal Minds). In fact the ABC comedy topped its combined CBS and NBC scripted competitors by 19% in the half-hour.

· ABC's Modern Family scored its best-ever results against an Idol telecast, building on its year-ago numbers in both Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%). In fact, Modern Family's 5.0 Adult 18-49 rating is the biggest number in 6 years for any TV telecast against the Wednesday premiere of American Idol - since 1/18/06.

During the 9:30pm half hour against the tail-end of Idol, ABC's Happy Endings earned second against its scripted competition in Adults 18-49, beating NBC's Harry's Law by 190%. Happy Endings registered as the #1 scripted program in the hour with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Happy Endings delivered strong year-to-year gains for ABC, boosting the slot by 9% in Total Viewers and by 21% in Adults 18-49 from the same night last year.

· Despite facing Idol, Happy Endings retained 100% of its week-ago numbers with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), while increasing 10% with hard-to-reach Men 18-34. In fact, the comedy posted its best number since mid-November with Men 18-34 - since 11/16/11.

From 10-11pm, ABC freshman drama Revenge ran a strong second in its hour among Adults 18-49, while finishing #1 with Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· Up over the prior week in Adults 18-49 (+4%), ABC's Revenge matched a 9-week high - since 11/16/11. Posting its 2nd straight week of growth with Adults 18-34, the show marked its best performance in nearly 3 months - since 11/2/11.

· Revenge delivered substantial year-over-year improvement for ABC in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour with Total Viewers (+31%) and Adults 18-49 (+19%), topping first-run programming on the year-ago evening (Off the Map).

Quick Take for Wednesday, January 18, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is Up on Wednesday for the 3rd Straight Year Against the "Idol" Opener

Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted Show, ABC's "Modern Family" Scores the Top Young Adult Rating in 6 Years for Any TV Telecast Against an "American Idol" Premiere

ABC's "The Middle" Equals its Highest-Ever Adult 18-49 Number Opposite "Idol"

Boosting its Half-Hour for ABC Year to Year, "Suburgatory" Widens its Winning Advantage Over NBC's "Are You There, Chelsea?" with Viewers and Young Adults

ABC's "Modern Family" Earns its Best-Ever Numbers Opposite an "Idol" Broadcast

Improving its Time Slot Year to Year by Wide Margins in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's "Happy Endings" Grows Against "Idol" Among Men 18-34 to a 9-Week High

"Revenge" Gains Young Adults, with its Top Adult 18-34 Number in Nearly 3 Months

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

Up against the 2-hour season premiere of Fox's "American Idol," ABC (3.0/8) posted a strong second-place finish on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49, beating out third-place CBS by 20% (2.5/6) and fourth-place NBC by 100% (1.5/4).

· The Net grew by double digits over the year-ago Wednesday against the "Idol" premiere (1/19/11) in both Total Viewers (+13% - 8.1 million vs. 7.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 3.0/8 vs. 2.7/7), registering its 3rd consecutive year of gains opposite the "Idol" opener on the evening.

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" defeated its non-"Idol" competition by wide margins in Adults 18-49 and dominated its comedy competition. "The Middle" outperformed NBC's "Whitney" in the half-hour by 3.9 million viewers (8.2 million vs. 4.3 million) and by 63% with young adults (2.6/7 vs. 1.6/5).

· "The Middle" equaled its highest-ever Adult 18-49 number against an "American Idol" telecast.

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

Like its lead-in, ABC's "Suburgatory" finished as the dominant No. 1 scripted show at 8:30 p.m. among Adults 18-49 and toppled its freshman comedy competition on NBC. On their 2nd head-to-head matchup in the slot, ABC's "Suburgatory" widened its winning advantage over NBC's "Are You There, Chelsea?" to 63% in Total Viewers (7.0 million vs. 4.3 million) and 39% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 vs. 1.8/4).

· "Suburgatory" lifted its time period for ABC over the year-ago Wednesday against the "Idol" premiere by 9% in Total Viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (6.4 million and 2.1/6 for "Better with You.")

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Standing as the definitive No. 1 scripted TV program on Wednesday among Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" (5.0/12) doubled its lead-in against the third half-hour of "Idol" at 9:00 p.m., towering over its closest scripted competition in its time slot (+61% over CBS' original "Criminal Minds" = 3.1/7). In fact the ABC comedy topped its combined CBS and NBC scripted competitors by 19% in the half-hour (5.0/12 vs. 4.2/10).

· ABC's "Modern Family" scored its best-ever results against an "Idol" telecast, building on its year-ago numbers in both Total Viewers (+8% - 11.8 million vs. 10.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+9% - 5.0/12 vs. 4.6/12). In fact, "Modern Family's" 5.0 Adult 18-49 rating is the biggest number in 6 years for any TV telecast against the Wednesday premiere of "American Idol" - since 1/18/06.

"Happy Endings" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

During the 9:30 p.m. half-hour against the tail-end of "Idol," ABC's "Happy Endings" (2.9/7) earned second against its scripted competition in Adults 18-49, beating NBC's "Harry's Law" by 190% (1.0/2). In addition, "Happy Endings" registered as the No. 1 scripted show in the half-hour with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· "Happy Endings" delivered strong year-to-year gains for ABC, boosting the slot by 9% in Total Viewers (6.2 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/7 vs. 2.4/6) from the same night last year.

· Despite facing "Idol," "Happy Endings" retained 100% of its week-ago numbers with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), while increasing 10% with hard-to-reach Men 18-34. In fact, the comedy posted its best number since mid-November with Men 18-34 - since 11/16/11.

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

From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC freshman drama "Revenge" ran a strong second in its hour among Adults 18-49 (2.5/6), while finishing No. 1 with Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· Up over the prior week in Adults 18-49 (+4%), ABC's "Revenge" matched a 9-week high - since 11/16/11. Posting its 2nd straight week of growth with Adults 18-34, the show marked its best performance in nearly 3 months - since 11/2/11.

· "Revenge" delivered substantial year-over-year improvement for ABC in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour with Total Viewers (+31% - 7.6 million vs. 5.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+19% - 2.5/6 vs. 2.1/6), topping first-run programming on the year-ago evening ("Off the Map").

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 Ratings), 1/18/12.