ABC Dominates Memorial Day, Standing as Monday’s Most-Watched Net for The 12th Week Running and No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 8th Straight Week
The Network Generates its Most-Watched Memorial Day in 5 Years
Shifting Back to its Regular Start Time at 8pm, ABC’s “The Bachelorette” Ranks No. 1 in its 2-Hour Slot, Winning its Time Period for the 2nd Week in a Row
Exhibiting Impressive Lead-in Retention and Build from Start to Finish, ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” Debuts as Monday’s No. 1 TV Show
ABC’s “EM: Weight Loss” Scores Strong Year-Over-Year Time Period Growth And Qualifies as the Net’s Top-Rated Summer Series Debut Since August 2009
Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
Kicking off the summer season with “The Bachelorette” and the series debut of “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” finishing as the Top 2 TV shows of the night, ABC won Memorial Day by wide margins, leading runner-up CBS by 1.6 million viewers (7.1 million vs. 5.5 million) and by 57% among Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.4/4) during prime. The Net once again ran No. 1 in each half-hour of the night among viewers and young adults.
* Carrying over its winning streak from the regular season, ABC qualified as Monday’s most-watched television network for the 12th straight week and ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 for the 8th straight week (11 of the last 12 weeks).
* ABC grew its overall audience from the same evening last year (5/31/10 = 6.9 million), when it aired “The Bachelorette” into the premiere of “True Beauty,” marking the Net’s most-watched Memorial Day in 5 years – since 2006.
“The Bachelorette” (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Coming off its week-earlier season premiere directly following the high-rated “DWTS” finale in the 10pm hour, ABC’s “The Bachelorette” shifted back to its regular 8 o’clock start time and ranked No. 1 in its 2-hour time slot, topping second-place CBS by 34% in Total Viewers (7.1 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 40% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.5/4). It was the ABC unscripted series’ 2nd week in a row to lead its time period on both counts. ABC’s “The Bachelorette” tied lead-out “EM: Weight Loss” as the most-watched TV show on Monday.
* Gaining audience throughout its broadcast, “The Bachelorette” surged by 1.5 million viewers (6.4 million to 7.9 million) and by 39% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 to 2.5/6) from its first half-hour to its final half-hour.
“Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Exhibiting impressive lead-in compatibility and building its audience from start to finish, ABC’s series debut of “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” won its time period, beating NBC’s original drama (“L&O: LA”) by 9% in viewers (7.1 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 64% in young adults (2.3/6 vs. 1.4/4). Impressively, “EM: Weight Loss” retained all of its viewer lead-in coming out of “The Bachelorette” and grew 10% among young adults, while building its audience from start to finish in both Total Viewers (6.9 million to 7.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 to 2.4/6). In a rare feat for a show on its premiere telecast, “EM: Weight Loss” debuted as the No. 1 TV show on the night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
* ABC’s “EM: Weight Loss” was up over the year-ago premiere of “True Beauty” (5.3 million and 2.0/6 on 5/31/09) in the hour by 1.8 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49.
* Among Adults 18-49, “EM: Weight Loss” stands as ABC’s top-rated summer series debut since August 2009 – since 7/20/09.
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 41% currently, from 36% 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.
Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 5/30/11.