SECRET MILLIONAIRE Finale Delivers Month-High Ratings for ABC

Despite going up against NBC's premiere of Sunday Night Football in the 9 o'clock hour, the season finale of ABC's "Secret Millionaire" grew over the prior week's telecast by 10% in Total Viewers (4.3 million vs. 3.9 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3 vs. 0.8/3) to post its best performance in 3 weeks - since 8/18/13. In addition, "Secret Millionaire" shot up week to week by 100% in Women 18-34 to match a best-since premiere number. The ABC unscripted series improved over its year-ago finale (4.0 million and 1.0/3 on 8/12/12) by 8% in Total Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49.

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 48% currently, from 45% at the same point in 2011. 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.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 09/08/13.

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