"The Neighbors" Shows Strong Lead-in Retention as ABC's 8-9pm Comedies Top NBC's Comedies on Wednesday

Early info on ABC's Wednesday, ahead of the regular press release. Please note: Ratings for Wednesday's Presidential Debate will be "sustained" by Nielsen.

At 8pm opposite Fox's The X Factor and CBS' Survivor: Philippines, ABC's The Middle beat out its NBC comedy competition (Animal Practice) by 2.7 million viewers and by 47% in Adults 18-49. In addition the ABC comedy bested Survivor in both Adults 18-34 (+7%) and Women 18-34 (+13%).

Retaining an impressive 91% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:30pm and 94% in Women 18-34, against the second half-hours of X Factor and Survivor, ABC's The Neighbors defeated its freshman comedy competition (NBC's Guys with Kids) by double digits in Total Viewers (+20%) and young adults (+11%).

Quick Take for Wednesday, October 3, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's "The Middle" and "The Neighbors" Beat Out NBC's Wednesday 8-9pm Comedies by Substantial Margins with Viewers and Young Adults

Retaining an Impressive 91% of its Adults 18-49 Lead-in, ABC's "The Neighbors" Qualifies as TV's Most-Watched New Comedy for the 2nd Consecutive Week

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

At 8:00 p.m. opposite Fox's "The X Factor" and CBS' "Survivor: Philippines," ABC's "The Middle" beat out its NBC comedy competition ("Animal Practice") by 2.7 million viewers (7.9 million vs. 5.2 million) and by 47% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.5/5). In addition the ABC comedy bested "Survivor" in both Adults 18-34 (+7%) and Women 18-34 (+13%).

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

Retaining an impressive 91% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:30 p.m. and 94% in Women 18-34, against the second half-hours of "X Factor" and "Survivor," ABC's "The Neighbors" defeated its freshman comedy competition (NBC's "Guys with Kids") by double digits in Total Viewers (+20% - 6.6 million vs. 5.5 million) and young adults (+11% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.8/5).

· For the 2nd week in a row, "The Neighbors" (6.6 million) qualified as TV's most-watched new comedy, leading by wide margins over CBS' "Partners" (+14% - 5.8 million), NBC's "Go On" (+14% - 5.8 million), "The New Normal" (+47% - 4.5 million), "Animal Practice" (+27% - 5.2 million) and "Guys with Kids" (+20% - 5.5 million), and Fox's "Ben & Kate" (+106% - 3.2 million) and "The Mindy Project" (+78% - 3.7 million).

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 46% 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 (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 10/03/12.