ABC's "The Bachelor" Beats "Biggest Loser" by Season-Best 20% in Adults 18-49

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

Gaining week to week (+11%), ABC earned its most-watched Monday since November 26, 2012 The Net ranked #1 on Monday with Women 18-34 for the 4th straight week.

Head to head from 8-10pm, ABC's The Bachelor defeated NBC's The Biggest Loser 14 in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd week straight week, leading by a best-yet 20% (up from 9% the prior week). The Bachelor won its 2-hour time slot in Women 18-34 for the 4th week in a row. Despite facing CBS' all-original comedy block, The Bachelor retained nearly all of its prior week season high numbers in Total Viewers (99%) and Adults 18-49 (96%) .

ABC's Castle earned second place in the 10 o'clock hour, nearly tripling the overall audience (+184%) of NBC's Deception and leading the NBC drama by 79% in Adults 25-54 and by 50% in Adults 18-49.

Quick Take for Monday, February 4, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Draws its Most-Watched Monday Since November

Head to Head, ABC's "The Bachelor" Leads NBC's "The Biggest Loser 14" By a Best-Yet 20% in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Castle" Nearly Triples the Overall Audience of NBC's "Deception" And Beats the NBC Drama by High Double Digits in Key Adults

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

Gaining week to week (+11%), ABC earned its most-watched Monday (8.1 million) since November 26, 2012. The Net ranked No. 1 on Monday with Women 18-34 (2.8/8) for the 4th straight week.

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

Head to head from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m., ABC's "The Bachelor" defeated NBC's "The Biggest Loser 14" in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.0/5) for the 3rd week straight week, leading by a best-yet 20% (up from 9% the prior week). "The Bachelor" won its 2-hour time slot in Women 18-34 (3.5/9) for the 4th week in a row. Despite facing CBS' all-original comedy block, "The Bachelor" retained nearly all of its prior week season-high numbers in Total Viewers (99%) and Adults 18-49 (96%) .

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

ABC's "Castle" earned second place in the 10 o'clock hour, nearly tripling the overall audience (+184% - 8.8 million vs. 3.1 million) of NBC's "Deception" and leading the NBC drama by 79% in Adults 25-54 (2.5/6 vs. 1.4/3) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.2/3).

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 47% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2012. 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), 2/4/13.