ABC's New Celebrity Competition SPLASH Premieres to Strong Ratings

By: Caryn Robbins Mar. 20, 2013

At 8pm opposite CBS' top-rated NCIS, ABC's Splash opened way ahead of its unscripted competition, beating Fox's Hell's Kitchen in The Hour by 3.9 million viewers and by 30% in Adults 18-49. It ranked #1 in The Hour with W18-34, tying NCIS. The new show gained audience throughout its premiere, building in viewers (+3%) and young adults (+8%) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour. Among Adults 18-49, Splash stands as ABC's biggest unscripted series debut in more than 2 years and the highest on any net since The X-Factor opened in September 2011 - since 3/6/11 and 9/22/11, respectively. In addition, Splash delivered ABC's top Adult 18-49 rating in The Hour with series programming in nearly 1-1/2 years - since 10/18/11.

At 9pm, ABC's special DWTS: Exclusive First Look pulled in a strong Adult 18-49 number, taking second to NCIS: LA and beating first-run comedies on FOX by 11% (New Girl/The Mindy Project) and on NBC by 133% (Go On/The New Normal).

During the 10pm hour, ABC's Body Of Proof jumped week to week to week in Total Viewers (+26%) and Adults 18-49 (+25%) to earn season highs. In fact, the ABC drama Built its overall audience for its 3rd straight telecast and pulled in ABC's biggest audience in The Hour with scripted programming since April 10, 2012.