CHRISTMAS WITH HOLLY is Ratings Hit for ABC

Up against all-original competition from 9-11pm, including NBC's Sunday Night Football (Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers) and CBS' season finale of Amazing Race into the fall finale of The Mentalist, ABC's HallMark Hall of Fame: Christmas with Holly built sharply on its lead-in and gained audience from its first to second hour.

During its second hour from 10-11pm, ABC's HallMark Hall of Fame movie beat out CBS' Amazing Race-fueled The Mentalist in both Total Viewers (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+19%). In fact in the 10pm hour, the movie generated ABC's 2nd-largest audience this season, behind only the AMA's telecast in November.

Christmas with Holly was up from the last HallMark Hall of Fame movie (Firelight on 4/22/12) in Total Viewers (+1%) and Adults 18-49 (+13%), standing as ABC's best performance yet with the movie franchise on both Nielsen measures. Each of ABC's HallMark Hall of Fame movies have grown over the previous telecast in viewers and young adults.