Primetime Ratings Report For the week of March 26, 2012 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Claims 4 of the Top 20 TV Shows in Adults 18-49, while "DWTS" Stands as TV's Most-Watched Unscripted Series for the 2nd Week Running

The Network Posts its Most-Watched Non-"Oscar" Week Since November

For the 2nd Week Running, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Ranks as Monday's Most-Watched TV Show, Outdrawing NBC's "The Voice" by 6.0 Million Viewers

ABC's "Castle" Stands as Monday's No. 1 Scripted Show in Viewers and Young Adults

ABC's "Dancing" Recap Show Beats NBC's "Biggest Loser" on Tuesday from 8-9pm

Lifting ABC Up to No. 1 in its Hour, the Season 14 Premiere of "DWTS Results Show" Tops its Season 13 Opener and Delivers 4-Month Highs for the Net in its Time Slot

Finishing No. 1 in the 10pm Hour in Key Women, ABC's "Body of Proof" Produces Its Biggest Audience in Over 4 Months and Equals a 6-Month High in Adults 18-49

In Wednesday's 8pm Hour, ABC's Repeat Airings of "The Middle" and "Suburgatory" Outdraw NBC's Season Finales of the Comedies "Whitney" and "Chelsea"

ABC's Repeat "Modern Family" More than Doubles NBC's Original "Bent" at 9pm

Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show Among Adults 18-49, ABC's "Happy Endings" Grows Week to Week and Improves its Slot Year to Year

For the 2nd Week in a Row, ABC's Replay "Missing" Beats NBC's "Rock Center"

Continuing to Improve its Time Slot Year to Year Opposite "Idol," ABC's "Missing" More Than Doubles the Audience of NBC's Comedy Block in its Hour

Producing its Most-Watched Repeat this Season, ABC's "Grey's" Outdraws NBC's Original Comedies by 1.2 Million Viewers in Thursday's 9pm Hour

Friday's No. 1 TV Show, ABC's "20/20" Scores Over 2-Year Highs in Key Adults

ABC Claims Sunday's Top 2 TV Series in Adults 18-49 With "Once Upon a Time" and "Desperate Housewives"

Vaulting Over its Lead-in by 133%, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Shoots to the Top Of its Hour with Adults 18-49, Winning its Slot for its 6th Consecutive Telecast

WEEK No. 28:

During the week of March 26, 2012, ABC finished as the 2nd-most-watched network for the 3rd straight week to CBS, widening its lead over Fox to double digits (+12% - 7.5 million vs. 6.7 million).

· ABC's numbers were up week to week in viewers (+9% - 7.5 million vs. 6.9 million) and young adults (+6% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5). In fact, growing its audience for the 3rd straight week, ABC produced its most-watched non-"Oscar" week since November - since w/o 11/21/11.

Rankings: ABC delivered 4 of the Top 20 TV shows for the week in Adults 18-49, placing 2 in the Top 10: "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 9, "DWTS Results Show" - No. 10, "Once Upon a Time" - No. 14 and "Desperate Housewives" - No. 18. In addition, ABC aired 2 of the Top 6 most-watched programs overall with "DWTS" (No. 2) and "DWTS Results Show" (No. 6), as "DWTS" finished as TV's most-watched unscripted series for the 2nd week in a row, topping both editions of Fox's "Idol" and NBC's "The Voice." Marking its top-rated telecast in well over 2 years (since 1/8/10), ABC's "20/20" qualified as TV's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

Monday

Boosted by another strong turnout for "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC qualified as Monday's most-watched TV network for the 2nd week running, outdrawing runner-up NBC with "The Voice" and "Smash" by 5.9 million viewers (16.0 million vs. 10.1 million). Finishing a strong No. 2 on the night in Adults 18-49 (2.9/8), ABC beat Fox with the 2-hour season finale of "Alcatraz" by 93% (1.5/4) and CBS' encore lineup by 53% (1.9/5).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)

The most-watched TV show on Monday for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" topped its 2-hour time period by 6.0 million viewers over runner-up NBC's "The Voice" in head-to-head competition (18.0 million vs. 12.0 million). Among Adults 18-49, "Dancing" more than doubled the delivery of Fox's 2-hour "Alcatraz" finale (+113% - 3.2/8 vs. 1.5/4) in the time period.

· ABC's "Dancing" exhibited strong retention of its week-earlier season premiere in Total Viewers (96%) and Adults 18-49 (91%).

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Castle" won the 10 o'clock hour to stand as Monday's No. 1 scripted TV show in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC's "Castle" beat out NBC's "Smash" by its biggest-ever margins, topping the NBC drama by 5.8 million viewers (11.9 million vs. 6.1 million) and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 2.1/5). The ABC drama also ranked No. 1 in the hour with Adults 25-54 (3.4/8) for the 2nd consecutive week.

· ABC's "Castle" turned in its largest overall audience since October and strongest young adult performance since November - since 10/31/11 and 11/7/11, respectively.

Tuesday

With a "Dancing" recap show followed by the Season 14 premiere of "DWTS Results Show" leading into "Body of Proof," ABC ran a strong No. 2 on Tuesday to CBS, leading third-place NBC's all-original lineup by 7.0 million viewers (12.1 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.8/5). With "DWTS Results Show" and "Body of Proof," ABC ranked No. 1 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49.

"Dancing with the Stars: The Story So Far" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's special "Dancing" recap show ("Dancing with the Stars: The Story So Far" = 10.7 million and 2.0/6) took second place to CBS' top-rated "NCIS," more than doubling the audience of NBC's time-period regular "The Biggest Loser" (5.3 million and 1.8/6) and leading by 11% in Adults 18-49.

· "DWTS: The Story So Far" drew the Net's biggest audience in the hour since October - since 10/11/11.

"DWTS Results Show" (9:00-10:01p.m.)

Lifting ABC up to No. 1 in the 9 o'clock hour, the season premiere of "DWTS Results Show" beat out CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles" in viewers (+6% - 15.7 million vs. 14.8 million) and young adults (+3% - 3.1/8 vs. 3.0/8). In fact, it was the 3rd time in its last 4 premieres for the "Results Show" to rank No. 1 in its slot on both counts. Outdelivering NBC and Fox by wide margins in Adults 18-49, the ABC dancing results show beat out the second hour of "The Biggest Loser" by 48% (2.1/6) and the "New Girl"/"Breaking In" comedy combo by 55% (2.0/5). In addition, "DWTS Results" finished as Tuesday's No. 1 TV show with Women 18-49. Tennis champion Martina Navratilova was the first celebrity voted off the show this season.

· ABC's "DWTS Results Show" was up over its Season 13 opener last fall (14.8 million and 2.9/7 on 9/20/11) in both Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+7%). Additionally in viewers and young adults, it was show's 2nd-strongest spring premiere in 4 years - since 3/25/08.

· Delivering huge week-to-week time period improvement in Total Viewers (+293%) and Adults 18-49 (+121%), "DWTS Results Show" produced 4-month highs for ABC in the hour on both measures - since 11/22/11, with the Season 13 finale of "DWTS."

"Body of Proof" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

In the 10 o'clock hour against CBS' "Unforgettable" and NBC's "Fashion Star," ABC's "Body of Proof" finished in a near-tie for No. 1 in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share with CBS in both demos), while winning the hour outright in key Women (W18-49/W25-54). In addition, ABC beat out NBC in the hour by season-best margins, as "Body of Proof" towered over "Fashion Star" by 5.7 million viewers (9.7 million vs. 4.0 million) and by 35% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.5/4).

· Up sharply over its most recent original in viewers (+29%) and young adults (+43%), ABC's "Body of Proof" drew its biggest audience in more than 4 months and equaled a 6-month high among Adults 18-49 - since 11/15/11 and 9/20/11, respectively.

Wednesday

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC's mostly repeat Wednesday schedule (1 original half-hour) dominated NBC's first-run schedule on the night (including season finales), leading by 35% in Total Viewers (4.2 million vs. 3.1 million) and by 30% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.0/3).

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m., against the start of Fox's 2-hour "Idol" and CBS' "Survivor: One World," ABC's repeat "The Middle" once again drew more viewers than NBC's season finale of "Whitney" (4.13 million vs. 4.08 million).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:30 p.m. like its lead-in, ABC's repeat "Suburgatory" outdrew its original comedy competition in the half hour, topping the season closer of "Are You There, Chelsea?" by 19% in viewers (3.7 million vs. 3.1 million) and tying the NBC comedy finale in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's repeat "Modern Family" stood as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot among Adults 18-49, topping runner-up CBS' encore "Criminal Minds" by 12% (1.9/5 vs. 1.7/5). In addition, the replay "Modern Family" more than doubled NBC's original "Bent" in the half-hour with Total Viewers (+104% - 5.3 million vs. 2.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+111% - 1.9/5 vs. 0.9/3).

"Happy Endings" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)

During the 9:30 p.m. half-hour against the conclusion of "Idol," ABC's "Happy Endings" finished as the top-rated scripted show in its slot and as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show overall in Adults 18-49 (tied w/"Modern Family"). In addition, the ABC sophomore comedy (4.1 million and 1.9/5) took full control of a second original episode of NBC's "Bent" (2.3 million and 0.8/2), increasing its winning advantage week to week to 1.8 million viewers and 138% in Adults 18-49 (up from 1.7 million viewers and 125% in Adults 18-49 the prior week).

· "Happy Endings" grew week to week with Adults 18-49 (+6%) and improved its time period year to year by 36% in the key young adult sales demo, bettering an original "Mr. Sunshine" on the same night last year (1.4/4 on 3/30/11).

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

During the 10 o'clock hour, for the 2nd consecutive week a replay of ABC freshman drama "Missing" beat out NBC's original "Rock Center with Brian Williams" in Total Viewers (+21% - 4.0 million vs. 3.3 million), Adults 25-54 (+18% - 1.3/3 vs. 1.1/3) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 0.9/2 vs. 0.8/2).

Thursday

"Missing" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., opposite Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' first-run comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Rules of Engagement"), ABC's "Missing" (7.8 million) more than doubled the audience (+136%) of NBC's original comedy block ("Community"/"30 Rock" = 3.3 million).

· Gaining audience throughout its broadcast, "Missing" grew by 5% in Total Viewers (7.7 million to 8.1 million) and 14% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 to 1.6/5) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

· The new drama continued to improve its hour year to year by double digits, pulling in a 22% larger audience than original programming on the year-ago night ("Wipeout" on 3/31/11 = 6.4 million).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's encore "Grey's Anatomy" topped NBC's mix of repeat and original comedies ("The Office"/"Up All Night") by 1.3 million viewers (4.1 million vs. 2.8 million), as the ABC drama drew its 2nd-biggest replay audience this season.

"Private Practice" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's repeat "Private Practice" beat out NBC's original "Awake" by double-digit margins with Women 18-49 (+20% - 1.2/3 vs. 1.0/3) and Women 25-54 (+23% - 1.6/4 vs. 1.3/3).

Friday

With a mix of repeat and original programming opposite all first-run competition, ABC finished in a virtual tie for No. 1 with CBS in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.7/5 - pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point), while dominating Fox by 33% (1.2/4) and NBC by 45% (1.1/4). With reports on lotto frenzy, ABC's "20/20" at 10:00 p.m. stood as Friday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

· The Network matched its top-rated Friday in 6 weeks among Adults 18-49 - since 2/17/12.

"Shark Tank" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Starting off the night against original programming, a repeat of ABC's "Shark Tank" at 8:00 p.m. led its unscripted competition in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5), beating Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" by 8% (1.2/4) and NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" by 63% (0.8/3).

· ABC's "Shark Tank" turned in its best-ever repeat numbers in Total Viewers (4.8 million) and young adults.

"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do?" ran in a near tie with CBS' "CSI:NY" for first place in the hour among Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.6/5 - pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share), while beating NBC's "Grimm" by 25% (1.2/4) and Fox's "Fringe" by 25% (1.2/4). Impressively, the ABC newsmagazine beat out the original dramas on CBS, NBC and Fox in the hour with Adults 18-34.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Friday's No. 1 TV show, ABC's "20/20" dominated the 10 o'clock hour, outdelivering CBS' "Blue Bloods" by 31% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.6/5) and by 17% in Adults 25-54 (2.8/8 vs. 2.4/6). In addition, "20/20" continued to overshadow its newsmagazine competition during the hour, beating NBC's Dateline by 52% in Total Viewers (7.0 million vs. 4.6 million), by 75% in Adults 25-54 (2.8/8 vs. 1.6/4) and by 75% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.2/4). ABC's "20/20, Lotto Frenzy: Be Careful What You Wish For," was anchored by Barbara Walters with reports from Dan Harris, Jay Schadler, John Berman, Nick Watt and Cecilia Vega.

· Scoring its 3rd straight week of demographic growth, ABC's "20/20" hit its highest numbers in well over 2 years with Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 - since 1/8/10.

Sunday

With a mix of repeat and original programming opposite CBS with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," ABC finished a solid No. 2 on Sunday with viewers (7.0 million) and young adults (2.1/6). Among Adults 18-49, ABC (2.1/6) beat out Fox's Sunday schedule by 24% (1.7/5) and NBC's original lineup by 31% (1.6/4). ABC's "Once Upon a Time" and "Desperate Housewives" stood as Sunday's Top 2 TV series with young adults.

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:01 p.m.)

Vaulting over its repeat "AFHV" lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+133%), ABC's "Once Upon a Time" shot up to No. 1 in its hour in Adults 18-49 (2.8/8), leading the slot for its 6th consecutive telecast. In fact, the Disney-owned drama finished as Sunday's No. 1 TV series for the 2nd week in a row.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:01-10:02 p.m.)

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" beat out its regular competition during the 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 (2.6/6), outdelivering Fox's animated comedies ("Family Guy"/"American Dad") by 13% (2.3/6) and the second hour of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" by 44% (1.8/4).

"GCB" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "GCB" topped the final hour of NBC's 3-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" by 9% in Adults 18-34 (1.2/3 vs. 1.1/3). It was the 5th straight week for the new ABC drama to rank as the No. 1 broadcast series in its slot with Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 03/26/12.