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ABC Shows Sink to Historic Ratings Lows

Oct 31, 2012  •  Post A Comment

ABC had another rough night in the ratings Tuesday, coming in fifth among broadcast networks as a number of series hit historic lows in the Nielsen overnights.

TVbytheNumbers.com reports that “Dancing with the Stars: All Stars” managed only a 1.9 average rating in the key 18-49 demo, down from a 2.3 last week and an all-time low for the series. “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23” also hit an all-time low with a 1.2, down 29% from a 1.7 for last week’s premiere episode.

“Happy Endings” turned in another weak performance for ABC, a 1.4 average in viewers 18-49, off 22% from the premiere a week ago. And at 10 p.m. ABC’s special on Hurricane Sandy fared poorly against NBC’s storm special. ABC’s storm-themed “20/20” installment delivered a 1.3 average, well short of the 2.9 NBC scored for its NBC News special “Storm Sandy.”

The report notes that the impact of the storm, including pre-emptions and power outages, means that significant adjustments can be expected.

With NBC’s two-hour “The Voice” up 6% to a 4.6 average in 18-49, the Peacock Network was the ratings winner for the night. NBC averaged a 4.0 for prime time, well ahead of CBS (2.6 average), Fox (1.7), Univision (1.7) and ABC (1.5). CBS delivered the most total viewers, however — 15.1 million to 10.8 million for NBC, 6.9 million for ABC, 4.1 million for Univision and 3.8 million for Fox.

CBS was paced by “NCIS” (3.4 average rating in 18-49, up 6% from a week ago), while “NCIS: LA” delivered a 2.8, even with last week, and “Vegas” inched up to a 1.7, a 6% improvement from a week ago.

Fox had its own problems, with “The Mindy Project” plunging 21% from its previous original episode to a 1.5 in the 18-49 demo. “New Girl,” meanwhile, was off 15% from last week to a 2.3. “Raising Hope” (1.7) and “Ben and Kate” (1.4) equaled last week’s numbers.

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