ABC's “A Special Edition of 20/20: The Year with Katie Couric” is Up Year to Year

In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's repeat "Castle" drew a 16% larger overall audience than NBC's "The Voice"-fueled "Take It All" (5.2 million vs. 4.5 million) for Monday.

"Castle" surged over its year-ago replay for the 2nd week in a row in both Total Viewers (+27% - 5.2 million vs. 4.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+38% - 1.1/3 vs. 0.8/2).

Tuesday

Opposite the 2-hour season finale of "The Voice" and CBS' all-original drama lineup, ABC was up week to week on Tuesday night by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 1.3/4).

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's second rebroadcast this season of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" ranked No. 1 against its broadcast competition from 8:00-9:00 p.m. in Kids 2-11 (2.6/9), leading its nearest competitor (NBC - 1.6/5) by 63% on the latter measure. In fact, ABC's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" stood as the night's top-rated broadcast show with Kids 2-11, topping "The Voice" finale by 30% (2.6/9 vs. 2.0/9).

The animated PEANUTS special improved the hour year to year for ABC by 5% in Total Viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.5 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.4/4).

"Happy Endings" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Despite facing "The Voice" finale at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Happy Endings" grew 8% week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.2/3) to equal a 7-week high - since 10/30/12. Spiking 44% in Adults 18-34 over the prior week, the ABC comedy posted a best-since premiere rating - since 10/23/12. In addition, "Happy Endings" matched a season-high with Men 18-34.

"Don't Trust The B---- in Apt 23" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:30 p.m. against the second half-hour of "The Voice," ABC's "Don't Trust The B---- in Apt 23" built week to week by 10% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 1.0/3).

"Private Practice" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

At 10 o'clock, ABC's "Private Practice" ran as the No. 1 drama in the hour among key Women demographics, beating CBS' "Vegas" by strong double-digit margins: W18-49 (+19% - 1.9/5 vs. 1.6/4) and W25-54 (+15% - 2.3/5 vs. 2.0/5).

Growing for the 2nd week in a row with Women 18-34 (+7%) against the final hour of "The Voice" finale, "Private Practice" scored its highest rating in nearly 3 months- since 10/2/12.

Wednesday

"A Special Edition of 20/20: The Year with Katie Couric" (9:31-11:00 p.m.)

Despite coming out of repeat programming at 9:30 p.m. against the final half-hour of Fox's 2-hour Wednesday finale of "The X Factor" and NBC's 2-hour "Miss Universe Pageant," "A Special Edition of 20/20: The Year with Katie Couric" was up over its year-ago telecast (on 12/15/11) in both Adults 18-49 (+7% - 1.6/4 vs. 1.5/4) and Adults 25-54 (+5% - 2.1/5 vs. 2.0/5).

Building its numbers at 10:00 p.m., "The Year with Katie Couric" earned second place from 10:00-11:00 p.m. with Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49), while finishing No. 1 among Women 25-54.

Versus the most recent installment of "A Special Edition of 20/20" with Katie Couric (1.3/4 and 1.8/5 on 10/26/12), "The Year with Katie Couric" scorEd Strong double-digit increases in Adults 18-49 (+23%) and Adults 25-54 (+17%).

Thursday

"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m. against the opening hour of Fox's "The X Factor" season closer, ABC's rebroadcast of "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" ranked No. 1 against its broadcast competition in its time period with Kids 2-11, beating the Fox finale by 21% (2.3/7 vs. 1.9/6). In fact, "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" stood as Thursday's top-rated broadcast program with Kids 2-11.

The PEANUTS holiday special surged over its telecast on the same Thursday last year (12/22/11) by 39% in Total Viewers (5.0 million vs. 3.6 million), by 27% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 1.1/3) and by 28% in Kids 2-11 (2.3/7 vs. 1.8/6). In addition, the special posted ABC's best Kids 2-11 rating in the hour in more than 1 year - since 12/15/11.

"CMA Country Christmas" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

Starting out at 9:00 p.m. opposite the second hour of Fox's "The X Factor" finale, "CMA Country Christmas" made ABC the most-watched network (6.9 million) in its second hour from 10:00-11:00 p.m.

ABC's "CMA Country Christmas" concert topped CBS' "Grammy Nominations Concert" earlier in the month (on 12/5/12) by 1.8 million viewers (7.2 million vs. 5.4 million).

Friday

With comedy encores ("Last Man Standing"/"Malibu Country") leading into an ABC News special from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC was the most-watched network on Friday night, leading its nearest competitor (NBC) by 9% (4.8 million vs. 4.4 million).

"Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's Part 1 of "Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour" ranked
No. 1 in its time period among Total Viewers (5.3 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.5/4), standing as Friday's most-watched TV show. Head to head in its final hour, the ABC News program dominated NBC's Dateline by 1.7 million viewers (5.4 million vs. 3.7 million) and by 36% in Adults 25-54 (1.5/4 vs. 1.1/3). Christiane Amanpour took viewers on the ultimate road trip as she traveled to the lands of the Bible to explore the fundamental roots of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the powerful stories that inspire billions. Part 2 of the special airs this coming Friday, 12/28/12, from 9:00-11:00 p.m.

Sunday

"The Sound of Music" (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite NBC's "Sunday Night Football" (San Francisco-Seattle) and Fox's big NFL primetime overrun into the first hour of the night, ABC's 4-hour rebroadcast of "The Sound of Music" delivered solid increases over last year's telecast (on 12/24/11), up by 1.5 million viewers (5.2 million vs. 3.7 million) and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 0.9/3).

ABC's encore movie telecast beat out CBS' lineup on the night, which included a first-run "60 Minutes," by 22% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 0.9/3).

Gaining viewers in each hour, "The Sound of Music" doubled its Total Viewer (+97% - 3.2 million to 6.3 million) and Adult 18-49 (+100% - 0.6/2 to 1.2/4) numbers from its first half-hour to its final half-hour.

WEEK NO. 13: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS

No.1 NBC 2.5 No.1 NBC 8,120,000

No.2 FOX 2.0 No.2 CBS 7,500,000

No.3 CBS 1.5 No.3 FOX 5,640,000

No.4 ABC 1.1 No.4 ABC 4,780,000

No.5 CW 0.5 No.5 CW 1,430,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 12/17/12.

Photo credit: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC

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