ABC's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Beats "The X-Factor" Finale/"The Year" Is Up 6% to Its Biggest Audience Yet

ABC Thursday Prime (8-11pm - 5.9 million and 1.5/5 in AD18-49): ABC ranked #2 on Thursday night in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 - tie), growing 7% over the year-ago night (1.4/4 on 12/20/12)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (8-9pm - 6.5 million and 1.7/6 in AD18-49): During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's second encore this season of A Charlie Brown Christmas beat the opening hour of Fox's The X-Factor finale by double digits in Total Viewers (+12% - 6.5 million vs. 5.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 1.7/6 vs. 1.5/5). The animated PEANUTS special outperformed NBC's The Sing Off (4.4 million and 1.2/4) in the hour by over 40% in both Total Viewers (+48%) and Adults 18-49 (+42%). A Charlie Brown Christmas was up over its year-ago telecast (5.8 million and 1.7/5 on 12/18/12) by 12% in Total Viewers and held even in Adults 18-49, delivering the special's largest audience for its 2nd broadcast of the season in 4 years - since 2009.

The Year (9:00-11pm - 5.7 million and 1.4/4 in AD18-49): From 9-11pm, The Year made ABC the most-watched broadcast net in its 2-hour time period, while also leading its NBC and CBS competition across the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Anchored by Robin Roberts, the ABC News special featured details of all the big stories and news events of the past year. The special was up 6% year to year in Total Viewers (5.7 million vs. 5.4 million on 12/19/12) to deliver its biggest audience yet.

Quick Take for Thursday, December 19, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's Second Airing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Draws its Biggest Audience In 4 Years and Defeats Fox's "The X-Factor" Finale in Viewers and Young Adults

"The Year" Makes ABC the Most-Watched Net in its 2-Hour Time Period And Grows by 6% to Draw the ABC News Special's Biggest Audience Yet

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.9 million and 1.5/5 in AD18-49):

ABC ranked No. 2 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 (tie), growing 7% over the year-ago night (1.5/5 vs. 1.4/4 on 12/20/12).

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 6.5 million and 1.7/6 in AD18-49):

During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's second encore this season of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" beat the opening hour of Fox's "The X-Factor" finale by double digits in Total Viewers (+12% - 6.5 million vs. 5.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 1.7/6 vs. 1.5/5). In addition, the animated PEANUTS special outperformed NBC's "The Sing Off" (4.4 million and 1.2/4) in the hour by over 40% in both Total Viewers (+48%) and Adults 18-49 (+42%).

· "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was up over its year-ago telecast (5.8 million and 1.7/5 on 12/18/12) by 12% in Total Viewers and held even in Adults 18-49, delivering the special's largest audience for its 2nd broadcast of the season in 4 years - since 2009.

"The Year" (9:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.7 million and 1.4/4 in AD18-49):

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., "The Year" made ABC the most-watched broadcast net in its 2-hour time period, while also leading its NBC and CBS competition across the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Anchored by Robin Roberts, the ABC News special featured details of all the big stories and news events of the past year.

· The special was up 6% year to year in Total Viewers (5.7 million vs. 5.4 million on 12/19/12) to deliver its biggest audience yet.

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 49% currently, from 47% 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, 12/19/13.