ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME Marks 3rd Week of Year-Over-Year Gains

Up against NBC's SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (Giants-Eagles) and an NFL overrun-driven Fox, ABC outdelivered its non-sports competition on CBS Sunday night by 14% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.4/4). ABC's "Once Upon a Time" was Sunday's No. 1 broadcast drama in Adults 18-49.

The Net grew year to year on Sunday for the 3rd consecutive week this season in both Total Viewers (+7% - 5.8 million vs. 5.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+7% - 1.6/4 vs. 1.5/4). In fact, ABC was the only broadcast net up from the year-ago Sunday in Adults 18-49.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m. - 5.5 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):
During the 7:00 p.m. hour opposite Fox's huge NFL overrun, ABC's 25th season premiere of "America's Funniest Home Videos" was up over its year-ago opener in Total Viewers (+4% - 5.5 million vs. 5.3 million) and held steady with Adults 18-49 (1.2/4). Opposite the stiff competition, the ABC video-clip show shot up from its first to second half-hour by 37% in Total Viewers and by 56% in Adults 18-49.

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 7.7 million and 2.6/7 in AD18-49):
More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+117%), ABC's "Once Upon a Time" beat CBS' "Madam Secretary" by 73% (2.6/7 vs. 1.5/4). The ABC drama was the No. 1 most social non-sports broadcast on Sunday with 64,301 tweets.

For the 3rd straight week, "Once Upon a Time" was up from its year-ago telecast in Total Viewers (+3% - 7.7 million vs. 7.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+8% - 2.6/7 vs. 2.4/6).

"Resurrection" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 5.5 million and 1.4/4 in AD18-49):
From 9:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's "Resurrection" once again defeated CBS' "The Good Wife" (+8% - 1.4/4 vs. 1.3/3) in Adults 18-49 and matched Fox's NFL-assisted comedy combo ("Family Guy-R"/"Mulaney" = 1.4/4).

"Revenge" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.6 million and 1.2/3 in AD18-49):
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Revenge" improved its hour year to year by 59% in Total Viewers (4.6 million vs. 2.9 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/3 vs. 0.8/2).

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 48% at the same point in 2013. 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.

Projections Rationale:
Lifts vs. L+SD are based on the 2013-14 season for premiere telecast or an average for originals (excluding the premiere).
Returning shows: Profile based on same show (either premiere or averages for originals).
New Series: Based on similar series.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 10/12/14.

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