ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Grows By Double-Digits to its Highest Numbers since June

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

During the week of October 15, 2012, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live hit season highs, growing over the prior week by 16% in Total Viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49 to deliver its best performance since June - since the weeks of 6/11/12 and 6/18/12, respectively.

· ABC's JKL (M-F 12am) dominated CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (M-F 12:35am) by double-digit margins in both Total Viewers (+34%) and Adults 18-49 (+24%), beating the CBS late-night program in all 4 weeks of the new season to date. In fact, JKL has drawn a bigger audience than Ferguson in 19 of the 20 days of the season.

· Monday's telecast (10/15/12), which featured guests Aziz Ansari, Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and June "Mama" Shannon and singer Josh Turner, marked JKL's most-watched and highest-rated telecast in Adults 18-49 on any night since June - since 6/14/12 and 6/11/12, respectively.

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming Week of October 15, 2012

ABC Rises to 4-Month Highs in Late-Night for the 2nd Week in a Row

Hitting Season Highs, ABC's "Nightline" is No. 1 in Late-Night in all Key Demos

ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Grows By Double Digits to its Best Numbers Since June

ABC Late-Night (Monday - Friday)

During the week of October 15, 2012, ABC shot up week to week by 15% in Total Viewers (2.526 million vs. 2.205 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (794,000 vs. 673,000) to hit 4-month highs in late-night for the 2nd week in a row - since the weeks of 6/11/12 and 6/18/12, respectively. Together, "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" form ABC's winning late-night strategy of airing news and entertainment programming.

For the 3rd time in 4 weeks, ABC grew its overall audience over the year-ago week (+6% - 2.387 on w/o 10/17/11).

· ABC stood as the No. 1 network in late-night for the 4th week in a row in Total Viewers, and in 3 of the last 4 weeks in Adults 18-49.

"Nightline" (Monday - Friday)

For the week of October 15, 2012, ABC's "Nightline" finished as the No. 1 program in late-night across all key target demos: Total Viewers (4.037 million), Adults 25-54 (1.475 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.115 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. "Nightline" has taken the top spot in late-night in all 4 weeks of the season in overall viewers and in the key adult news demo.

"Nightline" grew week to week by double digits to hit season highs in Total Viewers (+12%), Adults 25-54 (+13%) and Adults 18-49 (+19%), posting its strongest performance since June - since w/o 6/11/12, w/o 6/18/12 and w/o 6/18/12, respectively.

"Nightline" turned in its most-watched telecast (4.487 million) on Monday (10/15/12) and strongest performances in Adults 25-54 (1.624 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.357 million) on Tuesday (10/16/12) in 3 months - since 7/20/12. Further, on Friday (10/19/12), the second night of the special series "Hidden America: Don't Shoot, I Want to Grow Up," "Nightline" drew its 2nd-largest Adults 25-54 telecast (1.523 million) since July - since 7/20/12.

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, ahead of both NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show." This marks the 3rd straight year that the ABC program is taking the top spot in all 3 measures.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Monday - Friday)

During the week of October 15, 2012, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" hit season highs, growing over the prior week by 16% in Total Viewers (1.983 million vs. 1.710 million) and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (679,000 vs. 580,000) to deliver its best performances since June - since w/o 6/11/12 and w/o 6/18/12, respectively.

· ABC's "JKL" (M-F 12:00 a.m.) dominated CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) by double-digit margins in both Total Viewers (+34% - 1.983 million vs. 1.479 million) and Adults 18-49 (+24% - 679,000 vs. 546,000), beating the CBS late-night program in all 4 weeks of the new season to date. In fact, "JKL" has drawn a bigger overall audience than "Ferguson" in 19 of the 20 days of the season.

· Monday's telecast (10/15/12), which featured guests Aziz Ansari, Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and June "Mama" Shannon and singer Josh Turner, marked "JKL's" most-watched (2.267 million) and highest-rated telecast in Adults 18-49 (795,000) on any night in late-night since June - since 6/14/12 and 6/21/12, respectively.

Through the first 4 weeks of the 2012-13 season, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is up over the same point last season by 5% in Total Viewers (1.852 million vs. 1.761 million), standing as the only late-night broadcast talk show to grow its overall audience year over year.

Late-Night Rank (Week of Oct 15): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)

ABC 2,526,000 794,000

CBS 2,210,000 716,000

NBC 1,801,000 620,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day National Program Ratings for week of 10/15/12, 10/8/12 & 10/17/11 or as dated. Most Current - 2012-2013 Season (9/24 - 10/21/12) and 2011-2012 Season (9/19 - 10/23/11). 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."

Ratings Report for ABC News' "Nightline" For the Week of October 15, 2012

"Nightline" No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Hitting Season Highs in All Demos

"Nightline" Takes Top Spot in Late Night All 4 Weeks of Season in Total Viewers and Key Adult News Demo

"Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Late Night Among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Season to Date

For the week of October 15, 2012, ABC's "Nightline" finished as the No. 1 program in late night across all key target demos: Total Viewers (4.037 million), Adults 25-54 (1.475 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.115 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. "Nightline" has taken the top spot in late night in all 4 weeks of the season in overall viewers and in the key adult news demo.

"Nightline" grew week to week by double-digits to hit season highs in Total Viewers (+12%), Adults 25-54 (+13%) and Adults 18-49 (+19%), posting its strongest performance since June - since w/o 6/11/12, w/o 6/18/12 and w/o 6/18/12, respectively.

"Nightline" turned in its most-watched telecast (4.487 million) on Monday (10/15/12) and strongest performances in Adults 25-54 (1.624 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.357 million) on Tuesday (10/16/12) in 3 months - since 7/20/12. Further, on Friday (10/19/12), the second night of a special series, "Hidden America: Don't Shoot, I Want to Grow Up," "Nightline" drew its 2nd-largest Adults 25-54 telecast (1.523 million) since July - since 7/20/12.

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, ahead of both NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show." This marks the 3rd straight year that the ABC program is taking the top spot in all 3 measures.

Last week "Nightline" featured stories on the war on salt in children's diets, extensive coverage of the second presidential debate and an exclusive report on U.S. defense contractors apparently intoxicated on the job in Afghanistan. On Thursday and Friday "Nightline" aired an unprecedented series of special reports, "Hidden America: Don't Shoot, I Want to Grow Up," a closer look at the violence plaguing Chicago. Diane Sawyer and Alex Perez hosted a summit to address the violence in Chicago's streets with members of several rival gangs.

ABC News' "Nightline" is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. Juju Chang is a correspondent. Jeanmarie Condon is the Executive Producer. The program airs weeknights from 11:35 p.m., ET to 12:00 a.m. on the ABC Television Network. Together with "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "Nightline" is part of ABC's winning late night strategy of airing news and entertainment programming.

See Also:

Diane Sawyer Reports: "Hidden America: Don't Shoot, I Want to Grow Up"

"GMA" Turns In Longest Stretch at the Top in Total Viewers in 19 Years

"World News" Cuts Total Viewer Gap with NBC in 8 of Last 9 Weeks, Year to Year

Week of October 15, 2012

PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000/Rtg A18-49(000/Rtg

ABC "Nightline" 4,037,000 1,475,000/ 1.2 1,115,000/ 0.9

CBS "Late Show" 2,953,000 1,177,000/ 1.0 889,000/ 0.7

NBC "Tonight Show"2,839,000 1,072,000/ 0.9 855,000/ 0.7

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 Live + SD weeks of 10/15/12, 10/8/12 & 10/17/11, or as dated. Most Current - 2012-2013 Season (9/24 - 10/21/12) and 2011-2012 Season (9/19 - 10/16/11).