ABC's "Wife Swap" Grows to its 2nd-Best Numbers in 4 Years/"Grey's" Sees Best Repeat in Over 1 Year

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

In the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's Wife Swap outdrew NBC's comedies in the hour (Community/Parks and Recreation) by 1.6 million viewers. Opposite the second half of Fox's American Idol, Wife Swap jumped by 23% in Adults 18-49 from its first half-hour to its second half-hour. Growing week to week by 15% in Total Viewers and by 8% in Adults 18-49, Wife Swap scored its 2nd-best numbers this season, marking the show's 2nd-strongest performance since April 2009 - since 4/17/09.

At 9pm, an encore telecast of ABC's Grey's Anatomy attracted 1.2 million more Viewers than NBC's original comedies (The Office/season finale of Go On). The ABC drama delivered its best repeat performance in more than 1 year in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 - since 3/22/12 and 3/8/12, respectively.

Quick Take for Thursday, April 11, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's "Wife Swap" Grows to its 2nd-Best Numbers Since April 2009

"Grey's Anatomy" Sees its Best Repeat Performance in More Than 1 Year

"Wife Swap" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

In the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's "Wife Swap" outdrew NBC's comedies in the hour ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation") by 1.6 million viewers (4.6 million vs. 3.0 million). Opposite the second half of Fox's "American Idol," "Wife Swap" jumped by 23% in Adults 18-49 from its first half-hour to its second half-hour (1.3/4 to 1.6/5). Growing week to week by 15% in Total Viewers (4.6 million vs. 4.0 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5 vs. 1.3/4), "Wife Swap" scored its 2nd-best numbers this season, marking the show's 2nd-strongest performance since April 2009 � since 4/17/09.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:00 p.m., an encore telecast of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (4.4 million) attracted 1.2 million more Viewers than NBC's original comedies ("The Office"/season finale of "Go On" = 3.2 million). The ABC drama delivered its best repeat performance in more than 1 year in both Total Viewers (4.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.3/3) � since 3/22/12 and 3/8/12, respectively.

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, 04/11/13.