ABC Dominates Sunday with a Strong Open for "GCB"

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

ABC dominated Sunday night in Adults 18-49 over all-original competition on the other nets, outdelivering CBS by 24%, Fox by 30% and NBC by 53%. It was ABC's 3rd straight night this week to rank #1 in the key young adult sales demo.

· In Adults 18-49, the Net matched its top-rated Sunday with regular programming in 1-year - since 3/6/11.

ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos ranked a strong #1 during the 7 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, beating out runner-up CBS' 60 Minutes by 38%.

· Hitting season highs for its 3rd consecutive airing, America's Funniest Home Videos rose 10% over its last broadcast to equal its best Adult 18-49 number in well over 2 years - since 1/31/10.

Gaining ground for its 2nd straight broadcast (coming off a pre-emption the prior week for the Oscars), ABC's Once Upon a Time won the 8 o'clock hour in viewers and young adults to finish as Sunday's #1 broadcast among Adults 18-49. Dominating from 8-9pm with young adults, ABC's Once Upon a Time outran CBS' The Amazing Race by 21%, Fox's animated comedies by 48% (The Simpsons/Napoleon Dynamite) and NBC's encore Celebrity Apprentice by 209%.

· Growing its numbers for its 2nd telecast in a row, Once Upon a Time was up over its last airing two weeks ago by 8% in Total Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49 to mark its best performance since the end of January - since 1/29/12.

Up over its most-recent airing two weeks ago in viewers (+8%) and young adults (+14%), ABC's Desperate Housewives led the pack in the 9 o'clock hour with young adults (tied w/Fox's comedies), outpacing NBC's Celebrity Apprentice by 14%, and CBS' The Good Wife by 39%.

· Housewives drew its biggest audience in 8 weeks and hit a 6-week high with young adults - since 1/8/12 and 1/22/12, respectively.

Exhibiting strong retention of its Housewives lead-in (93% in viewers/88% in young adults) during the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's series debut of GCB finished a solid #2 in its slot against established competition, drawing 9% more viewers than the second half of NBC's 2-hour Celebrity Apprentice and beating out CBS' veteran CSI: Miami by 10% in Adults 18-49. The new ABC drama ranked #1 in its time period with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· In viewers and young adults, GCB produced a 5-month high for ABC with regular programming in the time period - since 10/2/11.

· The new drama improved its hour year to year, outperforming Brothers & Sisters on the same night in both viewers (+3%) and young adults (+5%).

Quick Take for Sunday, March 4, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Dominates in Adults 18-49 with its Top-Rated Regular Sunday in 1 Year

"America's Funniest Home Videos" Generates a 2-Year High in Adults 18-49

Sunday Night's No. 1 Broadcast with Adults 18-49, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Builds for its 2nd Straight Airing to Earn a Definitive First Place in the 8pm Hour

Continuing to Grow, ABC's "Housewives" Attracts its Biggest Audience in 8 Weeks

ABC's "GCB" Opens at 5-Month Highs for the Net in the 10pm Hour in Viewers And Young Adults, While Improving its Time Slot Over the Same Night Last Year

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

ABC (2.6/7) dominated Sunday night in Adults 18-49 over nearly all-original competition on the other nets, outdelivering CBS by 24% (2.1/5), Fox by 30% (2.0/5) and NBC by 53% (1.7/4). In fact, it was ABC's 3rd straight night this week to rank No. 1 in the key young adult sales demo.

· In Adults 18-49, the Net matched its top-rated Sunday with regular programming in 1 year - since 3/6/11.

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

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" ranked a strong No. 1 during the 7 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, beating out runner-up CBS' "60 Minutes" by 38% (2.2/6 vs. 1.6/5).

· Hitting season highs for its 3rd consecutive airing, "America's Funniest Home Videos" rose 10% over its last broadcast to equal its best Adult 18-49 number in well over 2 years - since 1/31/10.

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

Gaining ground for its 2nd straight telecast (coming off a pre-emption the prior week for the "Oscars"), ABC's "Once Upon a Time" won the 8 o'clock hour in viewers (10.6 million) and young adults (3.4/9) to finish as Sunday's No. 1 broadcast show among Adults 18-49. Dominating from 8:00-9:00 p.m. with young adults, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" outran CBS' "The Amazing Race" by 21% (2.8/7) and Fox's animated comedies by 48% ("The Simpsons"/"Napoleon Dynamite" = 2.3/6).

· Growing its numbers for its 2nd telecast in a row, "Once Upon a Time" was up over its last airing two weeks ago by 8% in Total Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49 to mark its best performance since the end of January - since 1/29/12.

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

Up over its most-recent airing two weeks ago in viewers (+8%) and young adults (+14%), ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (2.5/6) led the pack in the 9 o'clock hour with young adults (tied w/Fox's comedies), outpacing the first hour of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" by 14% (2.2/5) and CBS' "The Good Wife" by 39% (1.8/4).

· "Housewives" drew its biggest audience in 8 weeks (8.2 million) and hit a 6-week high with young adults - since 1/8/12 and 1/22/12, respectively.

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

Exhibiting strong retention of its "Housewives" lead-in (93% in viewers/88% in young adults) during the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's series debut of "GCB" finished a solid No. 2 in its slot against established competition, drawing 9% more viewers than the second half of NBC's 2-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" (7.6 million vs. 7.0 million) and beating out CBS' veteran "CSI: Miami" by 10% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.0/5). The new ABC drama ranked No. 1 in its time period with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· In viewers and young adults, "GCB" produced a 5-month high for ABC with regular programming in the time period - since 10/2/11.

· The new drama improved its hour year to year, outperforming "Brothers & Sisters" on the same night last year (7.4 million and 2.1/6 on 3/6/11) in both viewers (+3%) and young adults (+5%).

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 40% 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 Program Ratings), 03/04/12.