ABC's THE YEAR WITH KATIE COURIC Earns 2nd Place in Viewers

During the 8 o'clock hour opposite Fox's "X Factor Results Show" and CBS' repeat and original comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Rules of Engagement"), ABC's second rebroadcast this year of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" beat out NBC's encore comedies ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation") by wide margins with Total Viewers (+205% - 6.4 million vs. 2.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+157% - 1.8/5 vs. 0.7/2). The ABC animated Peanuts holiday special ran a strong No. 1 in the hour with Kids 2-11, leading runner-up "X Factor" by 69% (2.7/9 vs. 1.6/6) to stand as the highest-rated broadcast TV program of the evening.

"The Year with Katie Couric" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's special "The Year with Katie Couric" earned 2nd place in its 2-hour time period with Total Viewers (5.5 million), Adults 18-49 (1.5/4) and Adults 25-54 (2.0/5).

· "The Year with Katie Couric" delivered substantial year-over-year increases for ABC in the 2-hour time period, boosting the slot by 2.0 million viewers, by 36% in Adults 18-49 and by 43% in Adults 25-54.

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 43% currently, from 38% at the same point in 2010. 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.

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