ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Scores its Most-Watched Season in its 10-Year History

Some early points on Jimmy Kimmel Live's numbers, ahead of the regular press release:

For the complete 2011-12 TV season, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live grew its overall audience for the 3rd consecutive year (+3%), generating its most-watched season ever. JKL stood as the only late-night broadcast talk show to build over its prior season in Total Viewers, as NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (-5%), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (-2%) and Last Call with Carson Daly (-4%) and CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman (-11%) and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (-13%) were all down.

· ABC's JKL (M-F 12am) outperformed CBS' Ferguson (M-F 12:35am) during the season by double-digit percentages in both Total Viewers (+21%) and Adults 18-49 (+16%).

· JKL scored its most competitive finish ever with NBC's Tonight Show and CBS' The Late Show during the season among Adults 18-49, trailing just 414k young adult viewers behind the NBC program and 301k behind the CBS program. During the 3rd Quarter 2012, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live improved over the year-ago 3rd quarter by 2% in Total Viewers to turn in its most-watched 3Q in 6 years (since 2006) and its 2nd-most-watched 3Q ever. Growing its overall audience year over year for the 10th quarter in a row, JKL was the only broadcast talk show in late-night to post yearly gains among Total Viewers.

· ABC's JKL topped CBS' Ferguson for the 6th straight quarter in Total Viewers (+35%) and for the 10th consecutive quarter in Adults 18-49 (+32%). Further, JKL outdelivered Ferguson in each of the 13 weeks of the quarter in both viewers and young adults.

· With only 130,000 Adult 18-49 viewers separating ABC's JKL and CBS' Letterman during the quarter, the ABC late-night program delivered its closest demo performance ever with the CBS program. During the final week of the 2011-12 TV season (week of September 17), ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live was up for the 3rd week in a row in both Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+13%) to deliver its best performance in 3 months - since the week of 6/18/12. JKL was also up over the final week of the 2010-11 season (w/o 9/12/11) by 13% in viewers and by 7% in young adults, standing as the only late-night broadcast talk show to grow over the year-ago week.

· ABC's JKL beat NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (M-F 12:35am) by 14% in Total Viewers and by 12% in Adults 18-49, drawing a larger overall audience than the NBC late-night program in 4 of the 5 days of the week. In fact, on Thursday and Friday, repeat telecasts of JKL outperformed originals of Fallon by double-digit margins among young adults (Thursday: +21%, Friday: +10%).

· ABC's JKL towered over CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson by a hefty 41% in Total Viewers, outdrawing the CBS program in all but one week of the season. JKL also beat Ferguson by 41% in Adults 18-49, representing its 28th consecutive win over the CBS program. The ABC late-night program held double-digit advantages over Ferguson on 4 of 5 days of the week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) on both Nielsen measures, including JKL's repeat telecasts dominating original telecasts of the CBS program on Thursday and Friday.

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming 2011-12 TV Season / 3rd Quarter 2012 / Week of September 17, 2012

ABC Finishes the 2011-12 TV Season as the No. 1 Network in Late-Night

ABC's "Nightline" Takes the Top Spot in Total Viewers for the 3rd Straight Season and for the 2nd Year in a Row in the Key Adult News Demo

"Nightline" Turns in its Biggest 3rd Quarter Lead in Adults 25-54 over CBS' "The Late Show" in 13 Years

ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Scores its Most-Watched Season in its 10-Year History

With Year-to-Year Gains in the Last 10 Quarters, "JKL" is the Only Late-Night Broadcast Program to Grow its Overall Audience

In its Final Week of the 2011-12 TV Season, "JKL" Spikes to 13-Week Highs

ABC Late-Night (Monday - Friday)

ABC won the final week of the 2011-12 TV season (week of September 17, 2012) in late-night in both Total Viewers (2.174 million) and Adults 18-49 (704,000). Building for the 2nd week in a row, the Net posted week-to-week gains of 6% in Total Viewers and 12% in Adults 18-49 (2.056 million and 631,000 on w/o 9/10/12) to deliver its best numbers in late-night since July - since w/o 7/16/12 and w/o 7/23/12, respectively. Together, "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" form ABC's winning late-night strategy of airing news and entertainment programming.

ABC was up over the final week of the 2010-11 season by 9% in Total Viewers and by 3% in Adults 18-49 (1.997 million and 681,000 on week of 9/12/11), standing as the only broadcaster to grow on both Nielsen measures (CBS was mixed +8%/-4%; NBC was down -16%/-24%).

ABC finished as the No. 1 network in late-night during the 2011-12 season in both Total Viewers (2.274 million) and Adults 18-49 (780,000). Further, ABC ranked as the most-watched network on 27 weeks of the season - more than CBS (14) and NBC (10) combined. ABC also qualified as the No. 1 network among young adults 26 times during the season, marking the most number of wins in late-night.

"Nightline" (Monday - Friday)

For the 2011-12 TV season, ABC's "Nightline" ranked as the No. 1 program in late-night in Total Viewers (3.700 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.436 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. The ABC late-night program took the top spot in Total Viewers for the season for the 3rd straight season and the 2nd year in a row in the key adult news demo versus NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show."

· "Nightline" defeated NBC's "The Tonight Show" during the TV season with its largest Adults 25-54 lead (+45,000) in 17 years - since the 1994-95 season.

· "Nightline" beat CBS' "The Late Show" by its largest margins in both Total Viewer (+728,000) and Adults 25-54 (+186,000) in 13 years - since the 1998-99 season.

During the 3rd Quarter 2012, ABC's "Nightline" attracted 3.257 million Total Viewers, 1.210 million Adults 25-54 and 918,000 Adults 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"Nightline" led CBS' "The Late Show" by +228,000 in Adults 18-49, its largest-ever 3rd quarter advantage over the CBS late-night program. In Adults 25-54 (+285,000), "Nightline" turned in its biggest 3rd quarter lead in 13 years - since 3Q99.

For the week of September 17, 2012, ABC's "Nightline" ranked as the No. 1 program in late-night in the final week of the 2011-12 season across all key target demos: Total Viewers (3.520 million), Adults 25-54 (1.333 million) and Adults 18-49 (960,000), according to Nielsen Media Research.

"Nightline" saw across-the-board increases over the prior week in Total Viewers (+5%), Adults 25-54 (+10%) and Adults 18-49 (+10%) to finish the season with its best performance in 2 months in all 3 Nielsen measures - since w/o 7/16/12, w/o 7/16/12 and w/o 7/23/12, respectively.

"Nightline" also improved on the final week of the 2010-11 season (3.376 million and 1.249 million, respectively, on w/o 9/12/11) in Total Viewers (+4%) and Adults 25-54 (+7%).

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Monday - Friday)

For the complete 2011-12 TV season, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" grew its overall audience for the 3rd consecutive year (+3% - 1.735 million vs. 1.691 million), generating its most-watched season ever. "JKL" stood as the only late-night broadcast talk show to build over its prior season in Total Viewers, as NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (-5%), "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (-2%) and "Last Call with Carson Daly" (-4%) and CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" (-11%) and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (-13%) were all down.

· ABC's "JKL" (M-F 12:00 a.m.) outperformed CBS' "Ferguson" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) during the season by double-digit percentages in both Total Viewers (+22% - 1.735 million vs. 1.426 million) and Adults 18-49 (+16% - 656,000 vs. 564,000).

· "JKL" scored its most competitive finish ever with NBC's "Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show" among Adults 18-49 during the season, trailing by just 414,000 young adult viewers behind the NBC program (656,000 vs. 1.070 million) and 301,000 behind the CBS program (656,000 vs. 957,000).

During the 3rd Quarter 2012, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" improved over the year-ago 3rd quarter by 2% in Total Viewers (1.550 million vs. 1.524 million) to turn in its most-watched 3Q in 6 years (since 2006) and its 2nd-most-watched 3Q overall. Growing its overall audience year over year for the 10th quarter in a row, "JKL" was the only broadcast talk show in late-night to post yearly gains among Total Viewers.

· ABC's "JKL" topped CBS' "Ferguson" for the 6th straight quarter in Total Viewers (+35% - 1.550 million vs. 1.152 million) and for the 10th consecutive quarter in Adults 18-49 (+32% - 560,000 vs. 423,000). Further, "JKL" outdelivered "Ferguson" in each of the 13 weeks of the quarter in both viewers and young adults.

· With only 130,000 Adult 18-49 viewers separating ABC's "JKL" and CBS' "Letterman" during the quarter, the ABC late-night program delivered its closest demo performance ever with the CBS program (560,000 vs. 690,000).

During the final week of the 2011-12 TV season (week of September 17), ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" was up for the 3rd week in a row in both Total Viewers (+6% - 1.690 million vs. 1.592 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 612,000 vs. 543,000) to deliver its best performance in 3 months - since w/o 6/18/12. "JKL" was also up over the final week of the 2010-11 season by 13% in viewers and by 7% in young adults (1.495 million and 572,000 on w/o 9/12/11), standing as the only late-night broadcast talk show to grow over the final week last year.

· ABC's "JKL" beat NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) by 14% in Total Viewers (1.690 million vs. 1.488 million) and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (612,000 vs. 546,000), drawing a larger overall audience than the NBC late-night program on 4 of the 5 days of the week. In addition, in Adults 18-49, repeat telecasts of "JKL" on Thursday and Friday outperformed originals of "Fallon" by double-digit margins (Thursday: +21%, Friday: +10%).

· ABC's "JKL" towered over CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" by a hefty 41% in Total Viewers (1.690 million vs. 1.202 million), outdrawing the CBS program in all but one week of the season. "JKL" also beat "Ferguson" by 41% in Adults 18-49 (612,000 vs. 433,000), representing its 28th consecutive win over the CBS program. The ABC late-night program held double-digit advantages over "Ferguson" on 4 of 5 days of the week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) on both Nielsen measures, including "JKL's" repeat telecasts dominating original telecasts of the CBS program on Thursday and Friday.

Late-Night Rank (2011-12 Season): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)
ABC 2,274,000 780,000
CBS 2,178,000 755,000
NBC 2,267,000 765,000

Late-Night Rank (3rd Qtr 2012): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)
ABC 2,038,000 662,000
CBS 1,740,000 554,000
NBC 2,152,000 723,000

Late-Night Rank (Week of Sept 17): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)
ABC 2,174,000 704,000
CBS 2,003,000 609,000
NBC 1,941,000 627,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day National Program Ratings for week of 9/17/12, 9/10/12 & 9/12/11 or as dated. Live + 7 Day Ratings for 2010-2011 Season (9/20/11 - 9/18/11) and Q311 (6/27/11 - 9/18/11). Most Current for 2011-2012 Season (9/19/11 - 9/16/12) and Q312 (6/25/12-9/23/12). Comparisons based on 000s. ABC Late-Night = "Nightline" and "JKL"; CBS Late-Night = "Letterman" and "Ferguson"; NBC Late-Night = "Tonight Show," "Fallon" and "Carson Daly."