The alphabet network was mostly in repeats last week but they did have original programming on New Year’s Eve and Sunday night. Here’s how they spin the numbers…

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of December 27, 2010 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Claims 5 of the Top 10 Non-Sports TV Shows for the Week in Adults 18-49, Including 3 of the Top 4 and the No. 1 Series with “Desperate Housewives”

Driven by a Strong Slate of Repeat Comedies, ABC Ranks No. 1 on Wednesday In Adults 18-49, Generating Big Year-to-Year Gains in Viewers and Young Adults

ABC’s Repeat “The Middle” Wins its Slot, Generating its 2nd-Most-Watched-Ever Encore Airing on the Night

ABC’s “Modern Family” Replays Top Wednesday Night in Adults 18-49

ABC Dominates the Final Evening of 2010, Winning New Year’s Eve Friday in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC’s “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” is No. 1 on Friday, More Than Doubling NBC’s “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly”

ABC’s “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” Generates the Annual Special’s Biggest Audience in 9 Years

Opposite NFL-Driven Competition, ABC Posts One of its Top Sundays This Season

ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Scores a Season High in Adults 18-49

Hitting its Best Numbers in 2 Months with Viewers and Young Adults, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” is Sunday’s No. 1 Non-Sports TV Show 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 38% currently, from 34% 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.

During the week of December 27, 2010, ABC aired 5 of the Top 10 non-sports TV programs in Adults 18-49, including 3 of the Top 4 and the No. 1 scripted show with “Desperate Housewives”: “Desperate Housewives” – No. 1, “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2011” – No. 3, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” – No. 4, “Brothers & Sisters” – No. 8 and “Modern Family” – No. 10. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” was also the most-watched scripted program overall for the week.

Wednesday
Featuring back-to-back comedy repeats throughout the night, ABC ranked No. 1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 – tied w/CBS), while besting its broadcast rivals for the night in A18-34 (1.2/4) and key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49). Wednesday’s repeat lineup produced significantly improved year-to-year returns for ABC, jumping by 25% in Total Viewers (5.0 million vs. 4.0 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.2/4) over the same night last year (12/30/09).

“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
Growing week to week, ABC’s repeat airing of “The Middle” ranked No. 1 at 8:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5), beating out NBC’s original “Undercovers” by 60% in the half hour (1.0/3).
· “The Middle” generated its 2nd-biggest-ever repeat audience on the night (6.2 million).

“Better with You” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
ABC’s repeat freshman “Better with You” won the 8:30 p.m. half hour in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4), topping original programming on NBC (“Undercovers” – 0.9/3) by 67%. In addition, “Better with You” defeated its broadcast rivals in the half-hour with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:31 p.m.)
Surging from its lead-in (+20% in Total Viewers/+33% in Adults 18-49), ABC’s replay “Modern Family” tied CBS’ repeat “Criminal Minds” to rank No. 1 in the 9pm half-hour in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6).
· In Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 4.5 million), “Modern Family” outdelivered its year-ago performance for the 14th consecutive telecast this season and for the 12th time in 14 weeks in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.4/4).

“Modern Family” (9:31-10:01 p.m.)
The 9:30 p.m. replay of ABC’s “Modern Family” was the No. 1 TV show on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6), marking the 2nd straight week a repeat of the ABC comedy topped its network rivals.
· With the two “Modern Family” replays, ABC claimed the night’s top 2 programs in Adults 18-49.

Friday
With its New Year’s Eve lineup, featuring a rebroadcast airing of the theatrical “Wild Hogs” and “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011,” ABC finished a definitive No. 1 on the evening among Total Viewers (6.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.9/7). With young adults, ABC’s New Year’s schedule towered over second-place NBC’s line up, which included “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly,” by a margin of 90% (1.9/7 vs. 1.0/4).
· Hitting season-highs on the night, ABC drew its biggest Friday night audience in 1 year and its top Adult 18-49 number in 9 months – since 1/1/10 and 3/26/10, respectively.

“ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Wild Hogs” (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
ABC ran No. 1 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. with its replay movie “Wild Hogs” among Adults 18-49 (1.4/5), beating runner-up NBC’s 2-hour encore “Minute to Win It” by 40% (1.4/5 vs. 1.0/4).

“Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Surging over its lead-in, ABC’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011” overshadowed the final hour of the night and ranked as the No. 1 TV program in prime with Total Viewers (9.2 million) and across each of the key Adult demos: Adults 18-34 (2.1/10), Adults 18-49 (2.8/11) and Adults 25-54 (3.3/10). In fact in the final hour of prime, “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” beat the combined deliveries of CBS and NBC in the key young adult sales demo by 33% (2.8/11 vs. 2.1/8).
· Head to head from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC’s “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011” more than doubled the results of NBC’s “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” (3.9 million & 1.2/5), leading by 136% in Viewers and by 133% in Adults 18-49.
· “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” drew its biggest audience in 9 years – since 2001. The show shot up by 1.3 million viewers and gained 8% in Adults 18-49 from the last time New Year’s Eve fell on a Friday night (7.9 million and 2.6/10 on 12/31/04).

Sunday

Please note: NBC (Sunday Night Football – Seahawks vs. Rams), CBS (NFL primetime overrun) and Fox (NFL primetime overrun) each benefited from late-season NFL coverage on Sunday. Despite their NFL boosts, ABC drew a larger overall audience on the night than Fox (9.4 million vs. 8.8 million) and beat out CBS by 13% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7 vs. 2.4/6).
· ABC tied its highest Sunday Adult 18-49 number since the beginning of October (since 10/3/10), with its regular lineup on the night, standing as its 3rd-best regular performance on the evening this season.

“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
At 7:00 p.m. against NFL overruns on CBS and Fox in the hour, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” achieved its 2nd-highest numbers this season in Total Viewers (8.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6). In fact “AFV” generated the series’ 2nd-most-watched telecast since last January – since 1/31/10.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in to a season-high, ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” earned second place in the 8 pm hour to Sunday Night Football among Adults 18-49 (2.7/7), beating Fox’s comedies (2.5/6) and CBS’ programming (2.0/5). The show posted its top Adult 18-49 number this season.

“Desperate Housewives” (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
During the 9 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” made ABC the No. 1 non-sports network in its time period for the 9th consecutive original telecast with young adults (3.8/9). In fact it was the No. 1 non-sports TV show on Sunday among Adults 18-49. In addition, “Housewives” qualified as Sunday’s most-watched scripted TV show for its 11th straight first-run airing this season.
· Growing from its last original in mid-December (11.6 million and 3.6/8 on 12/12/10) among Total Viewers (+5%) and Adults 18-49 (+6%), “Housewives” produced its biggest audience in 2 months – since 11/7/10.

“Brothers & Sisters” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” finished as the No. 1 non-sports program in the 10 o’clock hour among Adults 18-49 (2.3/6).

Source: The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 12/27/10, unless stated otherwise.