ABC's CASTLE Tops Fox, NBC in Monday Night Ratings

Up against NBC's The Voice and CBS' original Monday schedule, ABC's combination of The Bachelor and Castle once again defeated Fox's original drama lineup (House/Alcatraz) during prime in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In addition, ABC registered as the #2 net on the night with Women 18-34 for the 3rd week running. ABC was up over the prior week in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+4%).

Gaining young adult audience from its first to second hour opposite The Voice and CBS' first-run comedy block, ABC's The Bachelor outdelivered Fox's dramas by double-digit percentages in direct competition from 8-10pm in Total Viewers (+25%) and Adults 18-49 (+19%). The ABC unscripted series took second in its time slot with its core audience of Women 18-34, outpacing CBS' comedy block.

Building on its lead-in by 1.6 million viewers in the 10pm hour, ABC's Castle widened its winning advantage over NBC's Voice-fueled Smash to 49% in Total Viewers (up from a 10% advantage the prior week). In addition despite its decided lead-in advantage coming out of The Voice, Castle paced within 2-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point of tying Smash and defeated the NBC drama by 13% in Adults 25-54.

Up week to week by 9% in viewers and by 5% in young adults, ABC's Castle posted its best numbers in 3 weeks - since 1/23/12.

The ABC drama increased its overall audience from the same night last year by 8%.