"The River" Opens at 11-Week Highs for ABC in the Time Period

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

With back-to-back episodes of Last Man Standing and the series debut of The River, ABC's numbers shot up over the same Tuesday last year (an all-original schedule) by 2.2 million viewers and by 60% Adults 18-49. ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network overall on Tuesday evening, topping all-original programming on both Fox (Glee/New Girl/Raising Hope) and NBC (The Biggest Loser/Parenthood). In addition, ABC beat out NBC's Tuesday lineup by 20% in Adults 18-49.

· In viewers and young adults, ABC marked its top Tuesday results since November - since 11/22/11.

From 8-9pm opposite CBS' top-rated NCIS, ABC's back-to-back episodes of Last Man Standing outdrew Fox's Glee and NBC's The Biggest Loser in Total Viewers, while leading the NBC unscripted series by 14% in Adults 18-49. Additionally, Last Man Standing made ABC the #2 network in the hour with key Men (M18-49/M25-54).

· The comedies delivered ABC's biggest audience in the hour since November and its top Adult 18-49 number since October - since 11/29/11 and 10/18/11.

· ABC's Last Man Standing (8:30pm) once again finished as Tuesday's most-watched comedy overall, outdrawing Fox's Glee-led New Girl at 9pm by 1.1 million viewers.

In viewers and young adults, ABC's debut of The River opened to 11-week highs in the 2-hour time period (9-11pm), producing the Net's best results since the season finale of Dancing with the Stars (on 11/22/11).

· The River generated enormous year-to-year time improvement over original drama programming on the year-ago night, jumping year over year by 36% in Total Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49.

Quick Take for Tuesday, February 7, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Posting its Strongest Tuesday Since November, ABC's Numbers Shoot Up Year Over Year by 2.0 Million Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49

Tuesday's Most-Watched Comedy Overall, Back-to-Back Episodes from 8-9pm of ABC's "Last Man Standing" Outdraw Fox's "Glee" and NBC's "The Biggest Loser"

Generating Enormous Year-to-Year Time Period Growth, "The River" Debuts to 11-Week Highs for ABC in its Slot, the Net's Best Results Since the "DWTS" Finale

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

With back-to-back episodes of "Last Man Standing" and the series debut of "The River," ABC's numbers shot up over the same Tuesday last year (an all-original schedule on 2/8/11) by 2.2 million viewers (7.6 million vs. 5.4 million) and by 60% Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 1.5/4). ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network overall on Tuesday evening, topping all-original programming on both Fox ("Glee"/"New Girl"/"Raising Hope") and NBC ("The Biggest Loser"/"Parenthood"). In addition, ABC beat out NBC's Tuesday lineup by 20% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.0/5).

· In viewers and young adults, ABC marked its top Tuesday results since November - since 11/22/11.

"Last Man Standing" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m. opposite the 200th episode of CBS' top-rated "NCIS," ABC's back-to-back episodes of "Last Man Standing" (7.9 million) outdrew Fox's "Glee" (7.7 million) and NBC's "The Biggest Loser" (6.0 million) in Total Viewers, while leading the NBC unscripted series by 14% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.1/6). Additionally, "Last Man Standing" made ABC the No. 2 network in the hour with key Men (M18-49/M25-54).

· The comedies delivered ABC's biggest audience in the hour since November and its top Adult 18-49 number since October - since 11/29/11 and 10/18/11.

· ABC's "Last Man Standing" (8.0 million at 8:30 p.m) once again finished as Tuesday's most-watched comedy overall, outdrawing Fox's "Glee"-led "New Girl" (6.9 million) at 9:00 p.m. by 1.1 million viewers.

"The River" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

In viewers (7.5 million) and young adults (2.4/6), ABC's debut of "The River" opened to 11-week highs in the 2-hour time period (9:00-11:00 p.m.), producing the Net's best results since the season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" (on 11/22/11). In addition, the program scored the Net's 2nd-highest numbers in the time period this season across all key Men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

· Holding 100% of its audience share from start to finish, the new ABC drama ranked No. 1 during its final hour from 10:00-11:00 p.m. among Adults 18-49, beating out NBC's "Parenthood" by 38% (2.2/6 vs. 1.6/4).

· "The River" generated enormous year-to-year time period improvement for ABC over original drama programming on the year-ago night ("V"/"Detroit 1-8-7" = 5.5 million and 1.5/4), jumping by 36% in Total Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49.

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 39% 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), 02/07/12.