ABC's "Castle" Hits a Season High as Monday's Top Scripted Show for the 4th Week Running

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

DWTS and Castle boosted ABC to the front of the pack on Monday for the 4th straight week this season, topping each half-hour and outdrawing runner-up NBC by 1.1 million viewers (The Voice/Revolution), CBS by 4.4 million viewers (HIMYM/Partners/2 Broke Girls/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0) and Fox by 7.8 million viewers (2012 MLB National League Championship). In addition among Adults 18-49, ABC paced well ahead of Fox's post-season baseball coverage on the night.

· Gaining week to week, ABC drew its biggest audience on the night since season-premiere Monday (9/24/12).

Growing steadily in each half-hour against strong competition, ABC's Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars finished as Monday's most-watched TV series for the 2nd week running and outdrew NBC's The Voice in head-to-head competition in the time period by 5%. In addition, the ABC unscripted series beat out Fox's MLB Playoffs in the slot by 62% in Adults 18-49.

Monday's most-watched scripted TV show for the 4th week in a row, ABC's Castle topped the 10 o'clock hour by sizeable margins, beating out NBC's Revolution by 2.1 million viewers and CBS' Hawaii Five-0 by 2.5 million viewers. In addition, the ABC drama ranked as the #2 series in the hour with Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

· Building its audience for the 2nd week in a row, Castle scored its most-watched telecast this season.

Quick Take for Monday, October 15, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Draws Largest Audience on the Night Since Season-Premiere Monday

"DWTS: All-Stars" Ranks as Monday's Most-Watched Series

ABC's "Castle" Hits Season Highs in Total Viewers for 2nd Straight Week

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

"DWTS" and "Castle" boosted ABC (12.6 million) to the front of the pack on Monday for the 4th straight week this season, topping each half-hour and outdrawing runner-up NBC by 1.1 million viewers (11.5 million - "The Voice"/"Revolution"), CBS by 4.4 million viewers (8.2 million - "HIMYM"/"Partners"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0") and Fox by 7.8 million viewers (4.8 million - 2012 MLB National League Championship). In addition, among Adults 18-49 ABC paced well ahead of Fox's post-season baseball coverage on the night (2.1/5 vs. 1.3/3).

· Gaining week to week, ABC drew its biggest audience on the night since season-premiere Monday (9/24/12).

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

Growing steadily in each half-hour against strong competition, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars" (13.5 million) finished as Monday's most-watched TV series for the 2nd week running and outdrew NBC's "The Voice" (12.8 million) in head-to-head competition in the time period by 5%. In addition, the ABC unscripted series beat out Fox's MLB Playoffs in the slot by 62% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 vs. 1.3/3).

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

Monday's most-watched scripted TV show for the 4th week in a row, ABC's "Castle" (10.9 million) topped the 10 o'clock hour by sizeable margins, beating out NBC's "Revolution" by 2.1 million viewers (8.8 million) and CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" by 2.5 million viewers (8.4 million). In addition, the ABC drama ranked as the No. 2 series in the hour in Adults 18-49 (2.0/5-tie) and Adults 25-54 (3.0/7).

· Building audience for the 2nd straight week, "Castle" scored its most-watched telecast this season.

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 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 10/15/12.