ABC's "The Bachelor" Finale Hits Season Highs

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

With the season finale of The Bachelor and The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special, ABC earned second place to a Voice-led NBC on Monday in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

· In viewers and young adults, ABC scored its strongest Monday in nearly 4 months - since 11/21/11 and 11/14/11, respectively.

Earning season-highs, ABC's The Bachelor 16th-season finale finished a strong second in its time period to NBC's 2-hour The Voice with viewers and young adults.

· Building young adult audience throughout its broadcast against The Voice, The Bachelor's numbers jumped by 1.1 million viewers and by 27% Adults 18-49 from its first half-hour to its final half-hour, as Ben Flajnik proposed to Courtney Robertson.

· The Bachelor finale produced ABC's top Adult 18-49 number in the slot since mid-November and marked its best Adult 18-34 number since season-premiere Monday - since 11/14/11 and 9/19/11, respectively.

· Surging week to week by double digits in viewers (+11%) and young adults (+16%), The Bachelor marked a season-best performance across the board.

Growing over its lead-in (+8%/+14%), ABC's The Bachelor: After the Final Rose towered over the 10 o'clock hour, dominating NBC's Voice-driven Smash by 38% in Total Viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49.

· Among young adults (AD18-34/AD18-49), the special generated the Net's highest numbers in time period in 1 year - since 3/14/11.

Quick Take for Monday, March 12, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Scores Strongest Monday in Nearly 4 Months

ABC's "The Bachelor" Finale Hits Season Highs in Viewers and Adults 18-49, While Posting ABC's Best Adults 18-34 Number from 8-10pm Since Premiere Monday

Winning the 10pm Hour, ABC's "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" Scores ABC's Top Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49 Ratings in the Hour in 1 Year

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

With the season finale of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" special, ABC earned second place to a "The Voice"-led NBC on Monday in Total Viewers (9.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.0/8).

· In viewers and young adults, ABC scored its strongest Monday in nearly 4 months - since 11/21/11 and 11/14/11, respectively.

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

Earning season highs, ABC's "The Bachelor" 16th-season finale finished a strong second in its time period to NBC's 2-hour "The Voice" with viewers (9.1 million) and young adults (2.9/8).

· Building young adult audience throughout its broadcast against "The Voice," "The Bachelor's" numbers jumped by 1.1 million viewers (8.9 million to 10.0 million) and by 27% Adults 18-49 (2.6/8 to 3.3/8) from its first half-hour to its final half-hour, as Ben Flajnik proposed to Courtney Robertson.

· "The Bachelor" finale produced ABC's top Adult 18-49 number in the slot since mid-November and marked its best Adult 18-34 (2.3/7) number since season-premiere Monday - since 11/14/11 and 9/19/11, respectively.

· Surging week to week by double digits in viewers (+11%) and young adults (+16%), The Bachelor marked a season-best performance across the board.

"The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Growing over its lead-in (+8%/+14%), ABC's "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" towered over the 10 o'clock hour, dominating NBC's "The Voice"-driven "Smash" by 38% in Total Viewers (9.8 million vs. 7.1 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/8 vs. 2.4/6).

· Among young adults (AD18-34/AD18-49), the special generated the Net's highest numbers in time period in 1 year - since 3/14/11.

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 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 Ratings), 3/12/12.