ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Marks its Most-Watched Telecast in 4 Months

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

ABC ran in a virtual-tie for #1 on Sunday in Adults 18-49 with an NCAA Basketball overrun-boosted CBS (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share). The NCAA Basketball tournament ran approximately 43 minutes into primetime. In addition, the Net won the night across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

More than doubling its lead-in 8pm (+123%), ABC's Once Upon a Time posted a strong first-place finish in its hour among Adults 18-49, leading runner-up CBS' Amazing Race by 12%. The Disney-owned drama was once again Sunday's #1 broadcast series in the key young adult sales demo.

· Continuing to grow its time period year to year, Once Upon a Time boosted its slot by 16% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year.

ABC's Desperate Housewives led the pack in the 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 (tying Fox's comedies), beating out CBS' The Good Wife by 14% and the first hour of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice by 56%.

· Growing its overall audience for its 4th consecutive airing, ABC's Housewives marked its most-watched broadcast in over 4 months and hit an 8-week high in Adults 18-34 - since 11/13/11 and 1/22/12, respectively.

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC's GCB ranked #1 in the 10pm hour in Adults 18-49, tying the second hour of NBC's 2-hour Celebrity Apprentice and beating CBS' CSI: Miami by 11%. In addition for the 3rd week running, the new ABC drama held the #1 position in its time period with Adults 18-34, and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· GCB was up dramatically for ABC in the hour year to year among viewers (+34%) and young adults (+82%), over original drama programming on the year-ago night.

· Building week to week in Women 18-34 (+5%), GCB marked a series-high in the key young women demo.

Quick Take for Sunday, March 18, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

More than Doubling its Lead-in at 8pm, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Wins its Hour Among Adults 18-49 and Continues to Qualify as Sunday's No. 1 Broadcast Series

Growing its Overall Audience for its 4th Consecutive Broadcast, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Generates its Most-Watched Telecast in 4 Months

"GCB" Ranks No. 1 in the 10pm Hour for the 2nd Week in Row with Adults 18-49 And Scores Huge Year-Over-Year Time Period Gains in Viewers and Young Adults

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

ABC ran in a virtual-tie for No. 1 on Sunday in Adults 18-49 with an NCAA Basketball overrun-boosted CBS (2.2/6 vs. 2.3/6 - pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share). The NCAA Basketball tournament ran approximately 43 minutes into primetime. In addition, the Net won the night across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

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

More than doubling its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+123%), ABC's "Once Upon a Time" posted a strong first-place finish in its hour among Adults 18-49, leading runner-up CBS' "Amazing Race XX" by 12% (2.9/8 vs. 2.6/7). The Disney-owned drama was once again Sunday's No. 1 broadcast series in the key young adult sales demo.

· Continuing to grow its time period year to year, "Once Upon a Time" boosted its slot by 16% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year ("Secret Millionaire" on 3/20/11 = 2.5/7).

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

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (2.5/6) led the pack in the 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 (tying Fox's comedies), beating out CBS' "The Good Wife" by 14% (2.2/5) and the first hour of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" by 56% (1.6/4).

· Growing its overall audience for its 4th consecutive airing, ABC's "Housewives" marked its most-watched broadcast in over 4 months (9.0 million) and hit an 8-week high in Adults 18-34 - since 11/13/11 and 1/22/12, respectively.

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

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "GCB" (2.0/5) ranked No. 1 in the 10:00 p.m. hour in Adults 18-49, tying the second hour of NBC's 2-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" and beating CBS' "CSI: Miami" by 11% (1.8/5). In addition for the 3rd week running, the new ABC drama held the No. 1 position in its time period with Adults 18-34, and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "GCB" was up dramatically for ABC in the hour year to year among viewers (+34% - 6.3 million vs. 4.7 million) and young adults (+82% - 2.0/5 vs. 1.1/3), over season finale drama programming on the year-ago night ("Detroit 1-8-7" finale).

· Building week to week in Women 18-34 (+5%), "GCB" marked a series-high in the key young women demo.

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), 03/18/12.