ABC Draws its Biggest Overall Audience in 5 Weeks

ABC aired 5 of the Top 20 non-sports TV programs during the week Adults 18-49, including the No. 1 broadcast drama for the 2nd week in a row with "Once Upon a Time": "Modern Family" – No. 5, "CMA Awards" – No. 6, "Once Upon a Time" – No. 8, while "Revenge" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" tied at No. 16. ABC's "DWTS: All-Stars" (No. 6) and the "CMA Awards" (No. 7) finished among the week's Top 10 most-watched TV shows overall, as "Dancing" stood as TV's most-watched unscripted series for the 4th straight week.

Monday
ABC's lineup of "DWTS" and "Castle" lifted the Net to its largest overall audience (12.9 million and best young adult performance (2.3/5) since season premiere Monday – since 9/24/12. ABC topped its broadcast rivals for the 6th consecutive week this season in Total Viewers, leading all 6 half-hours and outdelivering runner-up NBC by 1.9 million viewers (11.0 million – "The Voice"/"Revolution"), CBS by 5.9 million viewers (7.0 million – "HIMYM"/"Partners"/"2 Broke Girls"/"Mike & Molly"/"Hawaii Five-0") and Fox by 10.9 million viewers (2.0 million – "The X-Factor"). 

"Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Gaining viewers in each half-hour, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars" (13.9 million) stood as Monday's most-watched TV series for the 4th week in a row, leading NBC's "The Voice" (12.4 million) in head-to-head competition by 1.5 million viewers.

"DWTS" delivered its most-watched telecast since its season premiere – since 9/24/12.

"Castle" (10:00-11:01 p.m.)
Monday's most-watched scripted TV show in its 5th straight telecast, ABC's "Castle" (10.8 million) topped the 10 o'clock hour with its largest advantage to date over NBC's "Revolution" of 2.9 million viewers (7.9 million).

Building week to week in young adults (+10%), "Castle" equaled a season-best performance in Adults 18-49 – since 9/24/12.

Tuesday
"DWTS: All-Stars -- The Results Show" (8:00-9:01 p.m.)
In the 8 o'clock hour, "DWTS: All-Stars – The Results Show" beat out Fox's comedy block ("Raising Hope"/"Ben & Kate") by an impressive 8.0 million viewers (11.5 million vs. 3.5 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.6/4). Actress and singer Sabrina Bryan was the next celebrity dancer to be eliminated from the competition this season.

"Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)
At 9:30 p.m., ABC's "Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23" drew a bigger audience than Fox's "New Girl"-led "The Mindy Project" (+3% - 3.2 million vs. 3.1 million).

Wednesday
ABC took second place on Halloween night in Adults 18-34 (1.9/7) and among key Women (W18-34/W18-49). The Net ran in a near tie for No. 1 on the evening in Adults 18-49, with just 2-tenths of a rating point separating ABC (2.5/7), Fox (2.7/8) and CBS (2.6/8).

For its 5th straight broadcast this season, ABC's "Modern Family" finished as Wednesday's No. 1 TV show among Adults 18-49.

Please Note:  Overall TV usage levels were down week to week on Wednesday night in Homes (-5%) and among Adults 18-49 (-7%) due to Halloween and the ongoing impact of Hurricane Sandy, with millions of homes still without electricity.

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m., ABC's encore telecast of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" won its half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating out CBS' "Survivor" by 13% (2.7/9 vs. 2.4/8).  The animated PEANUTS special also delivered the No. 1 position in the half-hour with Adults 18-34 (tie) and Kids 2-11.

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was up over its year-ago telecast (on 10/27/11) in both Total Viewers (+8% - 8.0 million vs. 7.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+17% - 2.7/9 vs. 2.3/6), marking its best numbers in 3 years – since 10/27/09.  In addition the program delivered ABC's highest Kids 2-11 rating in the time period in nearly 2 years – since 11/10/10.

"The Neighbors" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
At 8:30 p.m., ABC's "The Neighbors" continued to dominate its freshman comedy competition, defeating NBC's "Guys with Kids" by 2.2 million viewers (5.8 million vs. 3.6 million) and by a best-yet 46% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.3/4).  The ABC family comedy beat out "Survivor" in the half-hour with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, while ranking as the No. 1 broadcast among Kids 2-11.  

Jumping 27% week to week in Kids 2-11, the ABC family comedy posted a new series high for its 3rd straight telecast. 

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
Surging over its lead-in to dominate the 9:00 p.m. half-hour in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Modern Family" outdelivered runner-up CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 45% (4.2/12 vs. 2.9/8).  In addition to standing as Wednesday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49, "Modern Family" was also the night's top-rated program with Adults 18-34 and Adults 25-54.

"Suburgatory" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)
In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Suburgatory" finished as the No. 1 scripted show among Adults 18-34 (1.6/5-tie) and Women 18-34 (2.0/6-tie). 

"Nashville" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Nashville" (5.7 million and 1.8/5) was once again the No. 1 new drama in viewers and young adults, increasing its advantage over NBC's "Chicago Fire" (5.6 million and 1.6/4) week to week to 13% in Adults 18-49, up from an 11% advantage the prior week.  In addition, freshman "Nashville" dominated CBS' veteran "CSI" for the 4th week in a row in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, winning the hour on the latter measure. 

Based on Live + 7 Day ratings, "Nashville" shot up over its Live + Same Day numbers by 50% in Adults 18-49 (+1.4 rating) and by 40% in Total Viewers (+3.53 million), delivering a 4.2 young adult rating and 12.5 million viewers for its debut telecast.

Thursday
With its broadcast of "The 46th Annual CMA Awards," ABC won Thursday night, beating out runner-up CBS by 7% in Total Viewers (13.7 million vs. 12.8 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (3.8/10 vs. 3.2/9).  ABC ranked No. 1 in 5 of 6 half-hours of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.  In fact the Network swept the evening, finishing No. 1 in Viewers, all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) and Teens 12-17, while standing top-rated broadcast with Kids 2-11. 

Please note: ABC's "CMA Awards" telecast moved from its traditional Wednesday night airing to Thursday this year.  Also, due to the ongoing impact of Sandy with continuing power outages and preemptions in the east, year-to-year comparisons for the "CMA Awards" are not valid apples-to-apples comparisons.

ABC marked its most-watched non-sports Thursday in well over 3 years and delivered its top non-sports Adult 18-49 number on the evening in nearly 2-1/2 years – since 9/24/09 and 5/20/10, respectively. 

The Net scored its highest Adult 18-49 number on any night this season.

The 2012 "CMA Awards" on ABC topped CBS' 2012 telecast of the "ACM Awards" in April (13.1 million and 3.1/8 on 4/1/12) in both viewers (+5%) and young adults (+23%). 

Friday
With comedy premieres ("Last Man Standing"/"Malibu Country"), "Shark Tank" and "20/20," ABC towered over Friday night in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6), leading CBS by 43% (1.4/5), NBC by 43% (1.4/4) and Fox by 100% (1.0/3). In fact, the Net ranked No. 1 in each half-hour from 8:00-10:00 p.m.  ABC claimed the Top 3 TV shows of the night in Adults 18-49 with "Shark Tank," "Malibu Country" and "Last Man Standing."

In Total Viewers (7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/6), ABC posted season highs on Friday evening.

"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:31 p.m.)
At 8:00 p.m., ABC's second season premiere of "Last Man Standing" opened at No. 1 in its half-hour with viewers (8.1 million) and young adults (2.0/7), beating CBS' season opener of "Undercover Boss" (7.4 million and 1.3/5) and Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" (2.9 million and 1.0/4).

"Last Man Standing" drew the series' biggest audience since January and posted its highest Adult 18-49 number since February – since 1/17/12 and 2/28/12, respectively. In addition, "Last Man Standing" opened its second season with ABC's highest numbers in the half-hour in close to 3 years – since 1/1/10.  

"Malibu Country" (8:31-9:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. by 1.0 million viewers and by 15% in young adults, the series debut of "Malibu Country" soared to the top of its half-hour (9.1 million and 2.3/8). In fact, "Malibu Country" finished as Friday's No. 1 TV show in the key young adult sales demo (tied with ABC's "Shark Tank").

In viewers and young adults, "Malibu Country" scored ABC's highest numbers in the half hour in almost 5 years – since 11/30/07.  In addition among Adults 18-49, "Malibu Country" opened as Friday's top-rated scripted series debut on any net since October 2007 – since ABC's "Women's Murder Club" on 10/12/07.

"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Moving up into its new 9 o'clock time period, ABC's "Shark Tank" built on its lead-in to dominate its hour in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), beating NBC's "Grimm" by 28% (1.8/5), CBS' "CSI: NY" by 53% (1.5/5) and Fox's "Fringe" by 156% (0.9/3). In fact, "Shark Tank" tied "Malibu Country" as the No. 1 show of the night among young adults.

Building week to week in Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 18-49 (+28%), "Shark Tank" once again achieved new series highs on both measures.  In addition, "Shark Tank" generated ABC's top Adult 18-49 number in the hour in more than 2-1/2 years – since 3/26/10.

"20/20" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's "20/20" ranked No. 1 during the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5) among the major nets, defeating CBS' "Blue Bloods" by 15% (1.3/4) and NBC's "Dateline" by 36% (1.1/3). In fact, "20/20" topped the competing NBC newsmagazine by 1.6 million viewers (5.4 million vs. 3.8 million) and by 43% in the key Adult 25-54 news demo (2.0/5 vs. 1.4/4). Anchored by Elizabeth Vargas, "20/20" featured an hour on heroes, including some of the amazing stories from Hurricane Sandy.  The program also gave viewers the latest information on the aftermath the storm.

Up 7% week to week, "20/20" marked its best Adult 18-49 rating in 7 weeks – since 9/14/12.

Continuing to grow its numbers year to year, ABC's "20/20" surged over its year-ago broadcast by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+13%),  Adults 18-49 (+36%) and Adults 25-54 (+33%).

Sunday
Up against another NFL-driven Sunday from NBC's "Sunday Night Football" (Dallas Cowboys-Atlanta Falcons) and a big CBS football overrun into the first hour of primetime (Pittsburgh Steelers-NY Giants), ABC retained all of its Adult 18-49 delivery week to week and beat out Fox's entertainment lineup on the night by 15% (2.3/6 vs. 2.0/5).  In addition, the Net grew its overall Sunday audience week to week and topped Fox by 3.1 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 4.2 million).

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Spiking week to week in viewers (+25%) and young adults (+31%), ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" earned season highs with its biggest audience (7.0 million) since the beginning of March and its top Adult 18-49 number (1.7/4) since early May – since 3/4/12 and 5/6/12, respectively.

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+106%) at 8:00 p.m. and building from start to finish, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" stood as Sunday's highest-rated scripted broadcast series for the 6th week in a row.  "Once Upon a Time" dominated its non-sports competition from 8:00-9:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (3.5/8), beating CBS' NFL-fueled "60 Minutes"/"Amazing Race XXI" by 21% (2.9/7) and Fox's animated comedies ("The Simpsons"/"Bob's Burgers") by 59% (2.2/5).  The Disney-owned drama registered as the No. 1 entertainment show on Sunday with Women 18-49.

Growing its young adult audience for the 3rd straight week and adding viewers week to week, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" scored best-since-season-premiere results in Total Viewers (10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.5/8) – since 9/30/12.

"Revenge" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
In the 9:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Revenge" paced well ahead of its entertainment competition in Adults 18-49 (2.7/6), beating Fox's animated comedies ("Family Guy"/"American Dad") by 23% (2.2/5) and CBS' "Amazing Race"/"The Good Wife" by 29% (2.1/5). The ABC sophomore drama also defeated its Fox and CBS competition in Adults 25-54 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

Surging in DVR playback, on average this season "Revenge" jumps from its L+SD to L+7 numbers by 2.8 million viewers and by 1.2 Adult 18-49 rating points (+43%). 

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