ABC's "Duets" Continues to Gain Viewers/"Wipeout" Leads at 9pm/"Rookie Blue" Spikes 18% in Adults 18-49

Early info on ABC's Thursday, ahead of the regular press release.

From 8-9pm, ABC's Duets outdrew its unscripted competition by a wide margin, beating Fox's Take Me Out by 1.7 million viewers.

· Building for its 3rd straight telecast (+12%), Duets attracted its largest audience in 1 month - since 6/7/12.

Jumping over its lead-in by 70% at 9pm, ABC's Wipeout led the pack for the 2nd week in a row in Adults 18-49, beating Fox's The Choice in the hour by 6% and more than quadrupling NBC's Saving Hope (+325%). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series stood as Thursday's #1 broadcast program with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11 for the 2nd week running.

From 10-11pm, ABC's Rookie Blue once again beat out its network rivals in the hour with Adults 18-49, outdelivering NBC's first-run Rock Center with Brian Williams by 44%.

· Rookie Blue grew week to week in Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 18-49 (+18%). In addition, the ABC drama hit a season-high with Men 18-49.

Quick Take for Thursday, July 5, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Continuing to Gain Momentum, "Duets" Draws its Biggest Audience in 1 Month

ABC's "Wipeout" Leads the Pack at 9pm for the 2nd Week Running in Adults 18-49, Beating Fox's "The Choice" and More Than Quadrupling NBC's "Saving Hope"

ABC's "Rookie Blue" is Up Week to Week by 9% in Total Viewers and By 18% in Adults 18-49, While Hitting a Season High with Men 18-49

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

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "Duets" outdrew its unscripted competition by a wide margin, topping Fox's "Take Me Out" by 1.7 million viewers (4.8 million vs. 3.1 million).

· Building for its 3rd straight telecast (+12%), "Duets" attracted its largest audience in 1 month - since 6/7/12.

"Wipeout" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Jumping over its lead-in by 70% at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Wipeout" led the pack for the 2nd week in a row in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5), beating Fox's "The Choice" in the hour by 6% (1.6/5) and more than quadrupling NBC's "Saving Hope" (+325% - 0.4/1). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series stood as Thursday's No. 1 broadcast program with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11 for the 2nd week running.

"Rookie Blue" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "Rookie Blue" once again beat out its network rivals in the hour with Adults 18-49 (1.3/4), outdelivering NBC's first-run "Rock Center with Brian Williams" by 44% (0.9/3).

· "Rookie Blue" grew week to week in Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 18-49 (+18%). In addition, the ABC drama hit a season-high with Men 18-49.

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 44% currently, from 41% 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), 07/05/12.