ABC Family Takes Top Spot in Cable Primetime in Key Demos

Powered by the network's 17th annual "25 Days of Christmas" programming extravaganza, ABC Family stood as the #1 cable TV network in Prime across target demos Adults 18-34 (623,000/0.9 rating), Women 18-34 (402,000/1.2 rating), Adults 18-49 (1.20 million/0.9 rating), Women 18-49 (758,000/1.2 rating), Viewers 12-34 (889,000/1.0 rating) and Females 12-34 (555,000/1.2 rating) and placed an ultra-competitive #2 in Total Viewers (2.55 million), trailing ESPN by a mere -4% (2.66 million), giving the The Walt Disney Company the week's Top 2 cable TV networks.

Notably, this marked ABC Family's 3rd-consecutive win in Prime among Women 18-34, Women 18-49 and Females 12-34.

To date, "25 Days of Christmas 2014" ranks ABC Family #1 in the daypart in Total Viewers (2.42 million), Adults 18-34 (622,000/0.9 rating), Women 18-34 (420,000/1.2 rating) Adults 18-49 (1.15 million/0.9 rating), Women 18-49 (737,000/1.2 rating), Viewers 12-34 (881,000/1.0 rating) and Females 12-34 (585,000/1.3 rating).

Notably, the event is off to the event's 2nd-best start in its illustrious 17-year history in Women 18-34 and Females 12-34 and its 3rd-best start in Adults 18-34, Women 18-49 and Viewers 12-34.

Compared to the first 21 nights in 2013, "25 Days of Christmas 2014" is up across the board, including by 7% in Adults 18-34 (622,000 vs. 584,000) and by 11% in both Adults 18-49 (1.15 million vs. 1.04 million) and Viewers 12-34 (881,000 vs. 794,000).

"25 Days of Christmas" Social Media Highlights:

Based on total tweets, ABC Family had the Top 2 most social programs of the week and 8 of the Top 10 overall (chart below), led by "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (#1 - 31,677 tweets, 12/20/14) and "The Polar Express" (#2 - 22,590 tweets, 12/21/14). Also appearing in the Top 10 were ABC's airing of "The Sound of Music Sing-Along" and Disney Channel's airing of "The Polar Express," giving The Walt Disney Company the week's Top 10 most tweeted about movies.

On Facebook, the event's programming guide has grown to 461,330 shares, becoming ABC Family's most shared post on record. Furthermore, the "25 Days of Christmas" Facebook page has reached over 40 million unique people over 28 days to date.

Source: NTI, U.S. ratings, 12/15/14-12/21/14, Live + Same Day. 25 Days = M-Su., 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. Social Media Sources: SocialGuide/Nielsen Twitter TV ratings, Facebook.