ABC Delivers Top Rated Monday Night Since Mid-November

With "The Bachelor" and "Castle" on the rise, ABC delivered its top rated Monday among Adults 18-49 (2.3/6) with regular programming since November 19, 2012. ABC ranked No. 1 on the night with Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 (2nd week in a row) and Women 18-49.

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Building for the 2nd straight week in Adults 18-49 (+4%), ABC's "The Bachelor" beat NBC's "The Biggest Loser 14" in head-to-head competition from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m (2.5/6 vs. 2.4/6). The ABC unscripted series continued to lead its time slot among its core audience of Women 18-34 and stood as Monday's No. 1 series for the 3rd straight week. "The Bachelor" hit season highs across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). In fact, the show delivered 16-month highs for ABC in the 2-hour time period in Adults 18-34 (2.5/7) and Women 18-34 (3.9/10) - since 9/19/11.

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Castle" more than doubled the audience of NBC's "Deception" (+141% - 8.7 million vs. 3.6 million) and led by increasing margins with key Adults: AD18-49 (+54% - 2.0/5 vs. 1.3/3) and AD25-54 (+73% - 2.6/6 vs. 1.5/4). "Castle" ranked No. 1 in its slot with Adults 18-34 (1.5/4) and all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Gaining 5% week to week in Adults 18-49, "Castle" equaled its highest rating since October - since 10/29/12. In addition, the ABC drama earned the series' best Adult 18-34 rating in nearly 1 year - since 2/27/12.

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 47% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2012. 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), 1/21/13.

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