ABC's "Kimmel" Scores its Most-Watched February Sweep in 5 Years

Some early points on Jimmy Kimmel Live's numbers, ahead of the regular press release:

During the recently completed February 2012 sweep, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live grew its overall audience from the year-ago sweep (+2%) to generate its most-watched February sweep in 5 years. The ABC late-night program has grown year over year for the 7th time in the last 8 sweep periods.

· ABC's JKL (M-F 12am) topped CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (M-F 12:30am) in both Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%) for the 2nd sweep period in a row. In fact, JKL extended its winning streak over the CBS late-night program in overall viewers to 4 consecutive sweep periods. In addition, JKL led Ferguson in young adults for the 2nd straight February.

During the week following its most-watched post-Oscar telecast ever (week of February 27, 2012), ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live was up over the prior week by 10% in Total Viewers, delivering the largest week-to-week gains of any late-night broadcast talk show. JKL also grew week to week by 14% in Adults 18-49 to hit a 14-week high - since w/o 11/21/11. In addition, JKL also saw its viewer count grow year to year, standing as the only late-night talk show to build its overall audience.

· During the week, ABC's JKL stood as the #3 late-night talk show in Total Viewers, behind only NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman

· ABC's JKL (M-F 12am) led NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (M-F 12:35am) by 5% in Total Viewers and by 4% Adults 18-49.

· ABC's JKL (M-F 12am) outperformed CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (M-F 12:35am) by double-digit margins in both Total Viewers (+12%) and Adults 18-49 (+11%), marking the 18th time in the 24 weeks of the season for the ABC late-night program to beat the CBS program in both Nielsen measures. In fact, JKL has drawn a larger overall audience than Ferguson in 23 of 24 weeks this season.

· For the season to date (24 weeks), JKL is building its overall audience through the same weeks last year by 3% in Total Viewers, growing the most year to year of any late-night broadcast talk show.

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming February 2012 Sweep / Week of February 27, 2012

ABC Delivers its Best Young Adult Performance in Late-Night in 6 Weeks

ABC's "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 During the February 2012 Sweep in Adults 25-54

"Nightline" is the Week's No. 1 Program in Late-Night in All Key Demos

ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Scores its Most-Watched February Sweep in 5 Years

Following its Biggest Post-Oscar Telecast, "JKL" Hits a 14-Week High in Adults 18-49

ABC Late-Night (Monday - Friday)

With its lineup of "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" during the week of February 27, 2012, ABC was up over the prior week by 8% in Total Viewers (2.304 million vs. 2.128 million) and was the only broadcaster in late-night to grow its overall audience week to week. In addition, ABC grew by 10% over the prior week in Adults 18-49 (817,000 vs. 744,000) to deliver its best young adult number in late-night in 6 weeks - since the week of 1/16/12.

ABC was also the only broadcaster in late-night to grow its overall audience (+1% - 2.304 million vs. 2.280 million) over the year-ago week (w/o 2/28/11), as CBS was down -9% and NBC was down -5%.

· ABC outperformed NBC during the week in late-night in both Total Viewers (+1% - 2.304 million vs. 2.275 million) and Adults 18-49 (+6% - 817,000 vs. 772,000).

"Nightline" (Monday - Friday)

For the week of February 27, 2012, ABC's "Nightline" ranked as the No. 1 program in late-night across all target demos: Total Viewers (3.878 million), Adults 25-54 (1.460 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.125 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. In fact, the ABC program has taken the top spot for the 2nd time in the last 3 weeks in all 3 measures.

"Nightline" improved on the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+8%), Adults 25-54 (+1%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%), standing as the only program to grow year to year versus NBC's "The Tonight Show"

(-3%, -5% and -1%, respectively) and CBS' "The Late Show" (-1%, -4% and -7%, respectively).

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, ahead of both NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show." This marks the 2nd straight year that the ABC program is taking the top spot in overall viewers and in the key adult news demo.

ABC's "Nightline" ranked No. 1 during the February 2012 sweep in Adults 25-54 (1.524 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. In fact, it was the 2nd February in a row and the 5th time in the last 6 sweeps periods that "Nightline" led in the key adult news demo.

"Nightline" was up over the year-ago sweep in Total Viewers (3.857 million vs. 3.854 million), drawing its largest February sweep audience in 8 years - since February 2004.

· "Nightline" outperformed CBS' "The Late Show" during the month by its largest February-sweep advantages in Total Viewers (+455,000) and Adults 25-54 (+43,000) in 13 years - since February 1999.

· "Nightline" outperformed NBC's "The Tonight Show" in Total Viewers (+23,000) for the 2nd straight February.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Monday - Friday)

During the week following its most-watched post-Oscar telecast ever (week of February 27, 2012), ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" was up over the prior week by 10% in Total Viewers (1.743 million vs. 1.591 million), delivering the largest week-to-week gains of any late-night broadcast talk show. "JKL" also grew week to week by 14% in Adults 18-49 (708,000 vs. 619,000) to hit a 14-week high - since w/o 11/21/11. In addition, "JKL" saw its viewer count grow year to year (1.743 million vs. 1.718 million), standing as the only late-night talk show to build its overall audience.

· During the week, ABC's "JKL" stood as the No. 3 late-night talk show in Total Viewers, behind only NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (3.722 million) and CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" (3.258 million).

· ABC's "JKL" (M-F 12:00 a.m.) led NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) by 5% in Total Viewers (1.743 million vs. 1.664 million) and by 4% Adults 18-49 (708,000 vs. 684,000).

· ABC's "JKL" (M-F 12:00 a.m.) outperformed CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) by double-digit margins in both Total Viewers (+12% - 1.743 million vs. 1.553 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 708,000 vs. 635,000), marking the 18th time in the 24 weeks of the season for the ABC late-night program to beat the CBS program in both Nielsen measures. In fact, "JKL" has drawn a larger overall audience than "Ferguson" in 23 of 24 weeks this season.

· Season to date (24 weeks), "JKL" is building its overall audience through the same weeks last year by 3% in Total Viewers (1.764 million vs. 1.714 million), growing the most year to year of any late-night broadcast talk show.

During the recently completed February 2012 sweep, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" grew its overall audience from the year-ago sweep (+2% - 1.721 million vs. 1.681 million) to generate its most-watched February sweep in 5 years - since 2007. The ABC late-night program has grown year over year for the 7th time in the last 8 sweep periods.

· ABC's "JKL" (M-F 12:00 a.m.) topped CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (M-F 12:30 a.m.) in both Total Viewers (+8% - 1.721 million vs. 1.593 million) and Adults 18-49 (+4% - 682,000 vs. 657,000) for the 2nd sweep period in a row. In fact, "JKL" extended its winning streak over the CBS late-night program in overall viewers to 4 consecutive sweep periods. In addition, "JKL" led "Ferguson" in young adults for the 2nd straight February.

Late-Night Rank (Week of Feb 27): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)

ABC 2,304,000 817,000

CBS 2,392,000 844,000

NBC 2,275,000 772,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day National Program Ratings for week of 2/27/12, 2/20/12 & 2/28/11 or as dated. Most Current: 11-2012 Season (9/19 - 3/4/12) and 2010-2011 Season (9/20 - 3/6/11). February 2012 Sweep (2/2-2/29/12), February 2011 (2/3-3/2/11) & November 2011 Sweep (10/27-11/23/11). Sweep periods (November, February, May and July). Comparisons based on 000s. ABC Late-Night = "Nightline" and "JKL"; CBS Late-Night = "Letterman" and "Ferguson"; NBC Late-Night = "Tonight Show," "Fallon" and "Carson Daly."

Ratings report for ABC News' Nightline For week of February 27, 2012 and February 2012 Sweep

"Nightline" Ranks as the No. 1 Program in Latenight Across All Target Demos for the Week of February 27

Season to Date, "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Latenight Among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49

ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 During the February 2012 Sweep in Adults 25-54

For the week of February 27, 2012, ABC's "Nightline" ranked as the No. 1 program in latenight across all target demos: Total Viewers (3.878 million), Adults 25-54 (1.460 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.125 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. In fact, the ABC program has taken the top spot for the 2nd time in the last 3 weeks in all 3 measures.

"Nightline" improved on the year-ago week in Total Viewers (+8%), Adults 25-54 (+1%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%), standing as the only program to grow year-to-year versus NBC's "The Tonight Show" (-3%, -5% and -1%, respectively) and CBS' "The Late Show" (-1%, -4% and -7%, respectively).

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in latenight among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, ahead of both NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show." This marks the 2nd straight year that the ABC program is taking the top spot in overall viewers and in the key adult news demo.

February 2012 Sweep

ABC News' "Nightline" ranked No. 1 during the February 2012 sweep in Adults 25-54 (1.524 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. In fact, it was the 2nd February in a row and the 5th time in the last 6 sweeps periods that "Nightline" led in the key adult news demo.

"Nightline" was up over the year-ago sweep in Total Viewers (3.857 million vs. 3.854 million), drawing its largest February sweep audience in 8 years - since February 2004.

"Nightline" outperformed CBS' "The Late Show" during the month by its largest February-sweep advantages in Total Viewers (+455,000) and Adults 25-54 (+43,000) in 13 years - since February 1999.

"Nightline" outperformed NBC's "The Tonight Show" in Total Viewers (+23,000) for the 2nd straight February.

ABC News' "Nightline" is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. Juju Chang is a correspondent. Jeanmarie Condon is the Executive Producer. The program airs weeknights from 11:35 p.m., ET to 12:00 a.m. on the ABC Television Network.

(Week of February 27, 2012)

PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/ Rtg A18-49(000)/ Rtg

ABC "Nightline" 3,878,000 1,460,000/ 1.2 1,125,000/ 0.9

CBS "Late Show" 3,258,000 1,397,000/ 1.2 1,059,000/ 0.8

NBC "Tonight Show" 3,722,000 1,399,000/ 1.2 1,081,000/ 0.8

(February 2012 Sweep)

PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/ Rtg A18-49(000)/ Rtg

ABC "Nightline" 3,857,000 1,524,000/ 1.3 1,150,000/ 0.9

CBS "Late Show" 3,402,000 1,481,000/ 1.2 1,141,000/ 0.9

NBC "Tonight Show" 3,898,000 1,501,000/ 1.2 1,156,000/ 0.9

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live+SD for 2/26/12, 2/19/12 & 2/27/11. February 2012 Sweep (2/2-2/29/12), February 2011 (2/3-3/2/11) & November 2011 Sweep (10/27-11/23/11). Sweep periods (November, February, May and July).