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Election Night Boosts ABC NEWS to Big 4th Quarter in 2012

Related: ABC News, ABC

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From Election Night, fierce battles in Washington and conflict in Gaza to Superstorm Sandy and the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the last three months of 2012 witnessed some of the biggest stories of the year. Whenever news broke, Americans turned to ABC News to see the whole picture on television, on radio and online. ABC News has surged into 2013 propelled by strong ratings in the fourth quarter of 2012, putting the News division in its best competitive position in years with continued growth and strength across every program.

Highlights from 4Q12:

"GOOD MORNING AMERICA"
ABC's "Good Morning America" stood as the No. 1 morning program during 4Q12 in both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54. In fact, 4Q12 stands as the first time that "GMA" has won any quarter in Adults 25-54 in more than 18 years - since 3Q94. In addition, the ABC morning newscast turned in its first back-to-back quarter wins in Total Viewers in more than 18 years - since 2Q94 and 3Q94, respectively. Impressively, "GMA" ranked No. 1 in all 13 weeks of 4Q12 in Total Viewers, and in 12 of 13 weeks in Adults 25-54.

"GMA" outperformed NBC's "Today" during 4Q12 by its largest quarter margins in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 in nearly 20 years - since 2Q93 and 2Q94, respectively.

"GMA" improved on the previous quarter (3Q12) in both Total Viewers (+7%) and Adults 25-54 (+9%), drawing its largest overall quarter audience in nearly 7 years - since 1Q06.

"GMA" posted gains on the year-ago quarter (4Q11) in both Total Viewers (+5%) and Adults 25-54 (+2%), attracting its largest 4th quarter audience in 7 years and strongest performance in Adults 25-54 in 4 years - since 4Q05 and 4Q08, respectively. Additionally, "GMA" built on its year-ago week performance in all 13 weeks in Total Viewers, and in 11 of 13 weeks in Adults 25-54.

"NIGHTLINE"
ABC's "Nightline" stood as late-night's No. 1 program during 4Q12 in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54. 4Q12 marked the 8th time in 9 quarters that the ABC late-night program led in overall viewers versus NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show," and in 7 of the last 9 quarters in the key adult news demo.

"Nightline" led an NBC Jay Leno-hosted "The Tonight Show" by its largest Total Viewer and Adults 25-54 advantages during a 4th quarter in 19 years - since 4Q93.

"Nightline" posted its widest margins over CBS' "The Late Show" during a 4th quarter in 14 years in Total Viewers and in 13 years in Adults 25-54 - since 4Q98 and 4Q99, respectively.

"ABC WORLD NEWS WITH Diane Sawyer"
For 4Q12, "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" posted double-digit increases over the previous quarter (3Q12) in both Total Viewers (+10%) and Adults 25-54 (+10%). In addition, for the 2nd year in a row "World News" increased its overall audience over the year-ago 4th quarter (+1% vs. 4Q11) to deliver its strongest 4th quarter performance in 3 years - since 4Q09.

For the 2nd straight year, "World News" decreased its Total Viewer margin with "NBC Nightly News" by double-digits during the 4th quarter (-16%). In fact, the ABC evening newscast delivered its smallest 4th quarter gap with "Nightly News" in 4 years - since 4Q08.

"World News" outperformed the "CBS Evening News" during 4Q12 by 1.30 million Total Viewers and by 185,000 Adults 25-54 viewers.

"20/20"
ABC's "20/20" ranked No. 1 in Friday's 10 o'clock hour during 4Q12 in Adults 18-49 versus its CBS and NBC competition, based on Live + Same Day numbers.

"20/20" is up in both Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+11%) compared to the year-ago quarter (4Q11).

Versus its NBC and CBS competition in the time period, "20/20" stood as the only program to grow in Adults 18-49, while growing the most in Total Viewers.

"THIS WEEK WITH George Stephanopoulos"
For 4Q12, "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" posted double-digit increases over the year-ago quarter (4Q11) of 19% in Total Viewers and 19% in Adults 25-54 to deliver its strongest 4th quarter performance in 3 years - since 4Q09. In fact, "This Week" turned in year-to-year growth in all 14 telecasts of the quarter in Total Viewers, and in 11 of 14 in the key adult news demo.

Compared to the previous quarter (3Q12), "This Week" improved in both Total Viewers (+11%) and Adults 25-54 (+13%). 4Q12 stood as "This Week's" strongest in 12 quarters in Total Viewers and in 7 quarters in Adults 25-54 - since 4Q09 and 1Q11, respectively.

In addition, the Yahoo-ABC News Network has been the no. 1 source of news and information online for 12 consecutive months, serving on average 86 million users a month. On Election Night ABC News Digital delivered 10 million live video streams, making it the most streamed live event in the history of ABC News.

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 Most Current: 4Q11: 9/24/12 - 12/30/12. 3Q11: 6/25 - 9/23/12. 4Q11: 9/19/11 - 12/25/11, unless otherwise noted. (*Note: Due to coverage of Hurricane Sandy, w/o 10/29/12 was coded as a breakout and is excluded from the season count).