via press release:
ABC Hits its Top Tuesday in 9 Weeks in Adults 18-49, Up on the Year-Ago Night for the 6th Straight Week and on 11 of the Last 12 Weeks in Viewers and Young Adults
ABC’s “Wipeout” Leads the 8pm Hour and is Tuesday’s No. 1 Show in Adults 18-49
ABC’s “Shaq VS” Delivers Series-High with Young Adults, Growing on its
Year-Ago Series Debut by 21% in Viewers and 18% in Adults 18-49
ABC News’ Repeat “Primetime: What Would You Do?” Registers the Net’s Second Highest Non-Sports Numbers at 10pm this Summer in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC generated its highest-rated Tuesday in 9 weeks (since 6/15/10 with the 2010 NBA Finals Game 6) among Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), registering its top non-sports performance on the night since June 1.
- Up year-to-year on the night for the 6th week in a row, ABC grew sharply over on the year-ago Tuesday (8/18/10) in Total Viewers (+33% - 6.1 million vs. 4.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+57% - 2.2/7 vs. 1.4/4). The Net has been up year to year on Tuesday evening on 11 of 12 weeks this summer.
“Wipeout-TUES” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Wipeout” won the 8 o’clock hour among Total Viewers (8.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.0/10), beating out its nearest competition by 100% with young adults (NBC – 1.5/5). Despite its early time period with lower overall TV usage levels, “Wipeout” finished as Tuesday’s No. 1 TV show in the key young adult sales demo, outperforming NBC’s 2-hour “America’s Got Talent” (9:00 – 11:00 p. m.). “Wipeout” also qualified as Tuesday’s No. 1 TV show with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34, Men 18-49 and Women 18-34, and was the night’s top-rated broadcast program with Kids 2-11.
- Coming on the heels of its 4th season renewal announcement earlier in the week, “Wipeout” generated its highest Adult 18-49 rating in 6 weeks – since 7/6/10.
“Shaq VS” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
In the 9 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Shaq VS” jumped to a series-high with young adults, surging week to week by 42% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 43% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.4/4).
- The ABC sophomore unscripted series was up over its performance on in the hour on the same night last summer, on its series debut, gaining 21% in Total Viewers and 18% in Adults 18-49 (4.2 million and 1.7/5).
“Primetime: What Would You Do?” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10 p.m. hour, ABC’s repeat airing of “Primetime: What Would You Do?” took second place against its NBC (original “America’s Got Talent”) and CBS (encore “The Good Wife”) competition among Adults 18-49, outdelivering CBS’ “The Good Wife” by 70% (1.7/5 vs. 1.0/3).
- The ABC newsmagazine produced the Net’s 2nd highest non-sports numbers in the time period this summer among Adults 18-49 (1.7/5) and Adults 25-54 (1.9/5).
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 37% currently, from 32% at the same point in 2009. 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), 8/17/10.
