A Special Edition of "20/20" Spikes to 4-Month Highs for ABC in the Time Period

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

Shooting up from its lead-in and gaining audience from its first to second hour against all-original competition on NBC (Go On/The New Normal/Parenthood) and Fox (So You Think You Can Dance season finale), A Special Edition of 20/20 - Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time with Barbara Walters produced a summer-high in the 2-hour time period with ABC's best non-sports results in the slot in 4 months with Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 - since 5/22/12. I Love Lucy won Best TV show of all time

· During its second hour from 10-11pm, 20/20 ranked #1 with Adults 25-54, beating NBC's Parenthood by 9%. In addition, the ABC newsmagazine beat out the NBC first-run drama by 2.7 million viewers and held a 17% advantage with Teens 12-17.

· Among key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), 20/20 scored the Net's highest non-sports ratings in the time period, outside of the regular broadcast season, in 2 years - since 9/14/10.

Quick Take for Tuesday, September 18, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Opposite Stiff Competition, "A Special Edition of 20/20" Scores 4-Month Non-Sports Highs in its Time Period and the Best Adult Numbers Outside of a Season in 2 Years

Building from its First to Second Hour, "20/20" Ranks No. 1 at 10pm in Adults 25-54, While Outdrawing NBC's First-Run Episode of "Parenthood" by 2.7 Million Viewers

"A Special Edition of 20/20" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

Shooting up from its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. and gaining audience from its first to second hour against all-original competition on NBC ("Go On"/"The New Normal"/"Parenthood") and Fox ("So You Think You Can Dance" season finale), "A Special Edition of 20/20 - Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time with Barbara Walters" produced a summer-high in the 2-hour time period with ABC's best non-sports results in the slot in 4 months with Total Viewers (7.4 million), Adults 18-49 (1.6/4) and Adults 25-54 (2.3/6) - since 5/22/12. "I Love Lucy" won best TV show of all time.

· During its second hour from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "20/20" ranked No. 1 with Adults 25-54, beating NBC's "Parenthood" by 9% (2.4/6 vs. 2.2/6). In addition, the ABC newsmagazine beat out the NBC first-run drama by 2.7 million viewers (7.7 million vs. 5.0 million) and held a 17% advantage with Teens 12-17 (0.7/3 vs. 0.6/3).

· Among key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), "20/20" scored the Net's highest non-sports ratings in the time period, outside of the regular broadcast season, in 2 years - since 9/14/10.

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 45% currently, from 42% 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), 09/18/12.