ABC's MODERN FAMILY Scores Highest Adult 18-49 Rating Since September

By: Jan. 12, 2016
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During the first full week of 2016 (w/o 01/04/16), ABC delivered 5 of the Top 15 non-sports TV programs in Adults 18-49, including all 4 of its Wednesday comedies: "Modern Family" - No. 5, "The Bachelor" - No. 9, while "The Middle," "The Goldbergs" and "black-ish" tied at No. 11.

ABC's primetime delivery grew for the 2nd week in Total Viewers (+7% - 4.4 million vs. 4.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+10% - 1.1/4 vs. 1.0/3), hitting a 4-week high with young adults - since w/o 12/07/15.

Monday: With the Season 20 opener of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelor Live" premiere, ABC ran in a virtual tie for No. 1 on Monday with CBS' all-original schedule in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 vs. 1.9/6 for "Supergirl"/"Scorpion"/"NCIS: LA"), while leading by double digits over premiere/debut competition on NBC (+38% - 1.3/4 for "Superstore"/"Telenovela"/"The Biggest Loser") and FOX (+50% - 1.2/4 for "Superhuman"). ABC's "The Bachelor" was Monday's No. 1 TV show with Adults 18-49 (tie), Adults 18-34 and across all key Women. The Net won the night by 70% in Adults 18-34 over its closest broadcast competition (1.7/6 vs. 1.0/4 - CBS).

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:01 p.m. - 7.6 million and 2.2/7 in AD18-49):
Ranking No. 1 in each half-hour from 8:00-10:01 p.m., the season opener of "The Bachelor" won its slot by 10% over its closest competition in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 2.0/6 - CBS' "Supergirl"/"Scorpion"), with a season high for ABC in the 2-hour time period.

"The Bachelor" held even with its year-ago opener (on 1/5/15) in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7) while growing with Adults 18-34 (+5%) and Women 18-34 (+7%).

"The Bachelor Live" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 4.2 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):
At 10:00 p.m., ABC's premiere of "The Bachelor Live" outdrew the final hour of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" premiere in Total Viewers (4.2 million vs. 3.9 million). "The Bachelor Live" ranked No. 1 in the hour in Women 18-34 (1.5/5) among the broadcasters. Further, the unscripted series scored season highs for ABC in the slot among Adults 18-34 (0.9/3) and Women 18-34 (1.4/5).

Tuesday
"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 4.3 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):
Doubling its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+100%), ABC's special "Shark Tank" beat Fox's comedy premieres in the hour by 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.0/3 - "Brooklyn 9-9"/"The Grinder").

"Beyond the Tank" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 3.9 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49):
Holding 92% of its lead-in at 10:00 p.m. against original dramas on CBS and NBC, a special preview of "Beyond the Tank" tied ABC's highest Adult 18-49 rating (1.1/4) with a 10:00 p.m. telecast in the hour since season-premiere Tuesday 15 weeks ago - since 9/22/15. Please note: "Beyond the Tank" premieres in its regular time slot on Thursday (1/7/16) at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday
With its Wednesday comedies returning to originals for the first time in 4 weeks (since 12/9/15) and the Season 2 premiere of "American Crime," ABC ran a strong second on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6) to the 2-hour final season premiere of "American Idol" on Fox. Each of ABC's comedies ranked as the No. 1 scripted shows in their respective half-hours with Adults 18-49.

ABC was up from its most recent Wednesday of originals by 12% in Adults 18-49, matching a best-since-premiere number on the night with regular programming - since 9/23/15.

Please Note: "American Crime" premiered in its new Wednesday 10:00 p.m. time period last night. The critically acclaimed ABC drama's first season was on Thursday at 10:00 p.m. where it had the advantage of following all-originals of ABC hits "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal."

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 7.8 million and 2.1/7 in AD18-49):
At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" beat CBS' time-slot premiere of "2 Broke Girls" by 24% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.7/6) and also topped the CBS comedy in Total Viewers (+24% - 7.8 million vs. 6.3 million). "The Middle" was up from its last original in Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.1/7 vs. 2.0/7) to match its 2nd-highest rating this season.

"The Goldbergs" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 6.6 million and 2.1/7 in AD18-49):
At 8:30 p.m., ABC's "The Goldbergs" defeated CBS' premiere of "Mike & Molly" by an even greater number than its lead-in at 31% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.6/5). "The Goldbergs" returned up in Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.1/7 vs. 2.0/7) with its best rating since mid-November - since 11/18/15.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m. - 8.4 million and 2.8/9 in AD18-49):
At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family" spiked 33% from its lead-in (2.8/9 vs. 2.1/7) and is projected to rank as Wednesday's No. 1 show in Adults 18-49 in the Live + 7 Day ratings. "Modern Family" built on its last first-run telecast in Adults 18-49 (+8% - 2.8/9 vs. 2.6/9) for its highest number since September - since 9/30/15.

"black-ish" (9:31-10:00 p.m. - 6.3 million and 2.1/6 in AD18-49):
In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "black-ish" shot up 24% from its last original in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.7/5) and added 5% in Total Viewers (6.3 million vs. 6.0 million), earning best-since-premiere numbers on both counts - since 9/23/15.

"American Crime" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.7 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):
On its new night, the second season premiere of "American Crime" was up by double digits from its Thursday finale out of the "Scandal" closer last season in Total Viewers (+12% - 4.7 million vs. 4.2 million), Adults 18-49 (+20% - 1.2/4 vs. 1.0/3) and Adults 25-54 (+33% - 1.6/5 vs. 1.2/4). Despite the move, "American Crime" topped its final 7 telecasts of Season 1 across all 3 measures - since 3/26/15.

• The "American Crime" premiere matched season highs for ABC in Wednesday's 10 o'clock hour with a series among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

Thursday
"Beyond the Tank" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 4.3 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):
In its regular 8:00 p.m. slot premiere, ABC's "Beyond the Tank" outdrew NBC's original "Heroes Reborn" in the hour by 16% among Total Viewers (4.3 million vs. 3.7 million) and tied the NBC drama among Adults 18-49 (1.0/3). "Beyond the Tank" improved its hour year to year for ABC by 30% in Total Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (over original programming). And excluding only "Grey's Anatomy," "Beyond the Tank" delivered ABC's best in-season series Adult 18-49 rating in the time slot in almost 2 years - since 3/27/14.

"My Diet Is Better Than Yours" (9:00-11:00 p.m. - 2.4 million and 0.7/2 in AD18-49):
From 9:00-11:00 p.m. opposite strong all-original competition on the other major nets, including Fox's Thursday premiere of "American Idol" (9:00-10:00 p.m.), CBS' debut of "Angel from Hell" (9:30-10:00 p.m.) and NBC's debut of "Shades of Blue" (10:00-11:00 p.m.), ABC's debut of "My Diet Is Better Than Yours" held completely steady in each half-hour during its 2-hour telecast with Adults 18-49 (0.7/2). In addition, the new unscripted show grew from its first to second hour by double digits in Adults 18-34 (+25%), Women 18-34 (+17%) and Women 18-49 (+13%).

Friday
"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:31 p.m. - 7.3 million and 1.3/5 in AD18-49):
"Last Man Standing" held even with its last original telecast 4 weeks ago among Adults 18-49 (1.3/4) to match a season high, while growing by 7% in Total Viewers (7.3 million vs. 6.8 million) to draw its 2nd-biggest overall audience this season.

"Dr. Ken" (8:31-9:00 p.m. - 5.4 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49):
Returning to original for the first time in 4 weeks, "Dr. Ken" grew over its most recent original airing by 13% in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 4.8 million) and was even in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4).

"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:01 p.m. - 5.8 million and 1.3/5 in AD18-49):
On its first original airing on the night in 4 weeks, "Shark Tank" was up from Tuesday's special broadcast by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5 vs. 1.2/4) and held steady with its most-recent Friday original (1.3/5 vs. 1.4/5).

WEEK NO. 16: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 CBS 2.6 No.1 CBS 12,100,000
No.1 FOX 2.6 No.2 FOX 8,210,000
No.3 NBC 1.9 No.3 NBC 7,460,000
No.4 ABC 1.1 No.4 ABC 4,350,000
No.5 CW 0.3 No.5 CW 990,000


Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 01/04/16.

Image courtesy of ABC



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