ABC's "The Bachelor" Is Monday's #1 TV Series in Adults 18-34 and Women/"Castle" Is Up 12% from Its Last Original

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

With the season opener of The Bachelor and Castle opposite the BCS Championship Game on ESPN, ABC was Monday's most-watched broadcast net, outdrawing runner-up NBC with its Monday premiere of The Biggest Loser and the series debut of Deception by 1.3 million viewers. ABC also led its broadcast competition across all key Women and tied for the night's lead in Adults 18-34.

Building in each half-hour from 8-10pm, ABC's season premiere of The Bachelor drew 8% more viewers in the 2-hour time period than NBC's The Biggest Loser. The Bachelor stood as Monday's #1 TV series among Adults 18-34 and across the Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and delivered ABC's highest ratings in the time period in 5 months in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 - since 7/9/12.

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's Castle was up 12% in Adults 18-49 over its last original 5 weeks ago on 12/3/12. Gaining on its lead-in to finish as Monday's most-watched TV series overall, ABC's Castle outdrew NBC's series debut of Deception by 3.0 million viewers in the time period. Castle also outdelivered the NBC drama premiere with Adults 25-54 (+4%), Men 18-49 (+8%) and Men 25-54 (+29%) to rank as the top-rated series in the hour.

Quick Take for Monday, January 7, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Stands as the Monday's Most-Watched Broadcaster

Season Premiere of ABC's "The Bachelor" Ranks as Monday's No. 1 TV Series In Adults 18-34 and All Key Women

"The Bachelor" Turns in ABC's Strongest Performance from 8-10pm In Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 Since July

Monday's Most-Watched TV Series, "Castle" Outdraws NBC's "Deception" Series Debut by 3.0 Million Viewers

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

With the season opener of "The Bachelor" and "Castle" opposite the BCS Title Game on ESPN, ABC was Monday's most-watched broadcast net, outdrawing runner-up NBC with its Monday premiere of "The Biggest Loser" and the series debut of "Deception" by 1.3 million viewers (7.4 million vs. 6.1 million). ABC also led its broadcast competition across all key Women and tied for the night's lead in Adults 18-34 (1.7/5).

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building in each half-hour from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's season premiere of "The Bachelor" drew 8% more viewers in the 2-hour time period than NBC's "The Biggest Loser" (6.8 million vs. 6.3 million). "The Bachelor" stood as Monday's No. 1 TV series among Adults 18-34 and across the Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), and delivered ABC's highest ratings in the time period in 5 months in Adults 18-34 (1.9/5) and Women 18-34 (2.9/8) - since 7/9/12. Versus its year-ago premiere, "The Bachelor" retained 96% of its Adults 18-49 audience, while holding 100% retention in Adults 18-34.

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

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Castle" was up 12% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.7/5) over its last original 5 weeks ago on 12/3/12. Gaining on its lead-in to finish as Monday's most-watched TV series overall, "Castle" outdrew NBC's series debut of "Deception" by 3.0 million viewers (8.6 million vs. 5.6 million) in the time period. "Castle" also outdelivered the NBC drama premiere with Adults 25-54 (+4%), Men 18-49 (+8%) and Men 25-54 (+29%) to rank as the top-rated series in the hour.

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 43% 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), 1/7/12.