"The Bachelorette" Opens with ABC's Best Summer Time Slot Numbers Since July

With the season premiere of The Bachelorette and A Special Edition of 20/20 with Barbara Walters, ABC finished a strong second during primetime on Memorial Day to NBC with The Voice and Revolution. Growing year to year in viewers (+12%) and young adults (+13%), the Net delivered its strongest summer Monday since July - since 7/9/12 and 7/16/12, respectively.

Taking second place to The Voice head to head from 8-10pm and gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC's season opener of The Bachelorette was up over the show's performance on the Memorial Day last year in Total Viewers (+2%) and held even in Adults 18-49. Please Note: In recent seasons The Bachelorette premiered coming out of Dancing with the Stars, so comparisons to last year's post-Dancing premiere are not fair. Also, it was the first time the show faced The Voice. The Bachelorette delivered ABC's best summer numbers in the time period since July 16, 2012.

During the 10 o'clock hour, A Special Edition of 20/20 with Barbara Walters - Bringing Up Baby: Royal Edition earned second place to NBC's The Voice-led Revolution in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. The ABC newsmagazine improved its hour from the year-ago night by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+33%), Adults 18-49 (+63%) and Adults 25-54 (+33%).

Quick Take for Monday, May 27, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Take Second on Memorial Day with its Best Summer Monday Since July

"The Bachelorette" Opens its 9th Season as the No. 2 TV Show of the Night to NBC's "The Voice" and Build its Overall Audience from Memorial Day Last Year

"20/20 with Barbara Walters - Bringing Up Baby: Royal Edition" Delivers Double-Digit Year-to-Year Improvement for ABC in Monday's 10pm Hour

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

With the 9th season premiere of "The Bachelorette" and "20/20 with Barbara Walters," ABC finished a strong second during primetime on Memorial Day in viewers (5.8 million) and young adults (1.7/5) to NBC with "The Voice" and "Revolution."

· Growing year to year in viewers (+12%) and young adults (+13%), the Net delivered its strongest summer Monday since July - since 7/9/12 and 7/16/12, respectively.

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

Taking second place to "The Voice" head to head from 8:00-10:00 p.m. and gaining audience throughout its broadcast, ABC's season opener of "The Bachelorette" was up over the show's performance on the Memorial Day last year in Total Viewers (+2% - 5.9 million vs. 5.8 million), and held even in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5). Note: In recent seasons "The Bachelorette" has premiered coming straight out of "Dancing with the Stars," so direct comparisons to last year's post-"Dancing" premiere are not valid. In addition this is the first time the ABC unscripted show has aired opposite "The Voice."

· "The Bachelorette" stood as Monday's No. 2 TV show to "The Voice" and delivered ABC's best summer numbers in the time period since July 16, 2012.

· "The Bachelorette" opener generated 255,552 tweets, surging 196% over last year's premiere (86,205 on 5/14/12) and making it the most social series during primetime on Memorial Day.

"20/20 with Barbara Walters - Bringing Up Baby: Royal Edition" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, "20/20 with Barbara Walters - Bringing Up Baby: Royal Edition" earned second place to NBC's "The Voice"-led "Revolution" in Total Viewers (5.6 million), Adults 18-49 (1.3/4) and Adults 25-54 (1.6/4).

· The ABC newsmagazine improved its hour from the year-ago night by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+33%), Adults 18-49 (+63%) and Adults 25-54 (+33%).

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 48% currently, from 44% 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, 5/27/13.