News Division's Growth Surges in Morning, Evening, Late Night, Overnight, Weekends and Online

From the war in Syria and uprising in Egypt to devastating western wildfires, the Zimmerman verdict and the Royal Baby, when news broke this summer, Americans chose ABC News to see the whole picture. Strong ratings across the board helped ABC News close out the 2012-2013 season in its best competitive position in years in the mornings, evenings, late night and weekends. The news division continues to dominate the competition online; the Yahoo!-ABC News Network has been the #1 source for news and information online for 19 consecutive months.

Ratings highlights from the 2012-2013 season:

• "Good Morning America" finished the season as the No. 1 morning news program in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, leading "Today" by the largest overall margins in more than 20 years. "GMA" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers for 57 consecutive weeks and No. 1 in Adults 25-54 in 43 of 51 weeks for the season.
• "World News with Diane Sawyer" drew its most-watched season in 2 years, narrowing its margins by double-digits with NBC in both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 to post its smallest margins with "Nightly News" in 5 years. Since the snapping NBC's 243-week win streak in Adults 25-54, "World News" has slashed its year-to-year demo margins by double-digit percentages and trailed "Nightly News" by less than 100,000 demo viewers in 5 of the final 8 weeks, sustaining its growing momentum to close out the season.
• "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" delivered its most-watched season in 4 years. The broadcast improved the most over the previous season in Total Viewers, while standing as the only public affairs program to grow in Adults 25-54.
• "Nightline" finished the season in its new time period leading CBS across the board in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 and improving ABC's performance compared to the same weeks last year in Total Viewers.
• "20/20? beat NBC's "Dateline"/"Rock Center with Brian Williams" combo in Friday's 10 o'clock hour by double digits in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.
• For 19 consecutive months the Yahoo!-ABC News Network has delivered more page views, total unique users and total minutes than any other online news source, making it the #1 source for news and information online.
• "Good Morning America Saturday" was No. 1 for the first-time ever, winning the season in both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54. It was the program's most successful performance ever. "Good Morning America Sunday" improved over the previous season in both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 and attracted its largest overall audience ever.
• "World News Saturday with David Muir" was the only Saturday newscast to improve on last season in both Nielsen measures as CBS was mixed and NBC posted double-digit decreases. The broadcast marked its closest performance with NBC in 17 years in Total Viewers and in 18 years in Adults 25-54. "World News Sunday with David Muir" scored its most watched season in 7 years and stood as the only Sunday newscast to improve in both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.
• For the 12 th consecutive year "America This Morning" held the top spot in both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54. The overnight program registered double-digit growth over the previous season in both measures.
• "World News Now" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, improving on the 2011-2012 season performance and attracting its largest overall audience in six years.

"Good Morning America"

"GMA" stood as the No. 1 morning news program of the 2012-13 television season in both Total Viewers (5.300 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.970 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. "GMA" won the season for the first time in 19 years in Total Viewers and in 20 years in Adults 25-54 - since the 1993-94 and the 1992-93 seasons, respectively.

• Growing for the 3rd straight year (+9% - 4.870 million for the 2011-12 season), "GMA" won the 2012-13 season with its largest overall audience and its largest season margin (+688,000) over the No. 2-ranked "Today Show" (4.612 million) both in more than 21 years - since before the 1991-92 season, respectively; Nielsen's electronic database started on September of 1991.

• Further, "GMA" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers in all 51* weeks of the season, claiming the No. 1 telecast each week. Overall, "GMA" has ranked No. 1 every week in Total Viewers for more than 1 year (the last 57 weeks - since w/o 8/13/12). "GMA's" 57 consecutive weeks at the top stand as its longest stretch at No. 1 in more than 21 years - since before the 1991-92 season; Nielsen's electronic database started on September of 1991.

• In Adults 25-54, "GMA" also increased for the 3rd year in a row (+4% - 1.897 million for 2011-12 season) to deliver its strongest news demo performance in 5 seasons and beat "Today" (1.884 million) by its biggest news demo gap (+86,000) in 21 years - since the 2007-08 and the 1991-92 seasons, respectively. In addition, "GMA" grew the most from the previous season in the key adult news demo compared NBC's "Today" (-15%) and CBS' "This Morning" (+2%).

• Overall, "GMA" turned in its highest number of No. 1 finishes during a television season in both Total Viewers (51 of 51 weeks) and Adults 25-54 (43 of 51 weeks) in more than 21 years- since before the 1991-92 season.

"World News with Diane Sawyer"

During the 2012-13, "World News" increased its Total Viewing audience (+2%) compared to the 2011-12 season, drawing its most-watched season in 2 years - since the 2010-11 season. "World News" narrowed its margins by double-digits with "NBC Nightly News" in both Total Viewers (-32%) and Adults 25-54 (-29%) to post its smallest season margins (713,000 and 273,000, respectively) with the NBC program in 5 years - since the 2007-08 season.

• During the week of July 22, 2013, "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" ranked as the No. 1 evening newscast among Adults 25-54, snapping NBC's 243-week winning streak. "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" beat "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" by +38,000 Adults 25-54 (1.917 million vs. 1.879 million). This marked ABC's largest demo margin over the NBC program in nearly 5 years - since w/o 10/27/08.

• Since the win, "World News" has slashed its year-to-year demo margins by double-digits percentages and has trailed "Nightly News" by less than 100,000 demo viewers in 5 of the final 8 weeks, sustaining its growing momentum to close out the season.

"This Week with George Stephanopoulos"

During the 2012-13 season, " This Week" was up in Total Viewers (+8% - 2.585 million vs. 2.393 million) and Adults 25-54 (+1% - 745,000 vs. 740,000) versus its year-ago season averages, delivering its most-watched season in 4 years - since the 2008-09 season. In addition, "This Week" improved the most over the previous season in Total Viewers, while standing as the only public affairs program to grow in Adults 25-54 compared to CBS' "Face the Nation" (+7%/flat), NBC's "Meet the Press" (-3%/-7%) and Fox's "Fox News Sunday" (+5%/-4%).

• Competitively, "This Week" slashed half of its season margins with NBC's "Meet the Press" in both Total Viewers (-50% - 281,000 vs. 588,000) and Adults 25-54(-44% - 87,000 vs. 155,000) versus its margins last season. In fact, "GMA" posted its smallest margins with "Meet the Press" in 16 years in Total Viewers and in 18 years in Adult 25-54-since the 1996-97 and the 1994-95 seasons, respectively.

• In addition, "This Week" finished strong versus NBC's "Meet the Press" during the final 9 weeks of the season, beating the NBC public affairs program 7 times in Total Viewers and 6 times in Adults 25-54.

• Further, "This Week" also showed strong momentum to end the season compared to CBS' "Face the Nation" during the final 7 weeks of the season, beating the CBS public affairs program 4 times in Total Viewers and 5 times in Adults 25-54.

"Nightline"

On average in its first season in its new time period, "Nightline" delivered 1.552 million Total Viewers, 665,000 Adults 25-54 and 498,000 Adults 18-49. "Nightline" improved on ABC's performance compared to the same weeks last year in Total Viewers (+5%). In addition, "Nightline" led CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" across the board: Total Viewers (+154,000), Adults 25-54 (+28,000) and Adults 18-49 (+10,000).

• In its new time period, "Nightline" increased its Total Viewer advantage over CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" compared to the advantage of ABC's performance in the time-slot with the CBS program during the comparable weeks last season (+25% - 154,000 vs. 121,000) .

• "Nightline" has narrowed the Total Viewer margin with NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" by double-digits versus ABC's margin in the time-slot last year (-20% - 189,000 vs. 235,000).

"20/20? ( 9/24/12-5/22/13)

During the 2012-13 broadcast season, ABC's "20/20? beat NBC with its "Dateline"/"Rock Center with Brian Williams" combo in Friday's 10 o'clock hour by 12% in Total Viewers, by 23% in Adults 18-49 and by 17% in Adults 25-54. In fact, the ABC newsmagazine beat "Rock Center" in all 14 head-to-head matchups in both key Adult demos and in 13 of 14 in Total Viewers (based on length telecasts).

• For the season, ABC's "20/20? stood as the No. 2 newsmagazine in both Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, behind only CBS' NFL-fueled "60 Minutes," topping CBS' "48 Hours" and NBC's "Dateline-Sun-7PM," "Dateline-Wed," "Dateline-Fri" and "Rock Center with Brian Williams."

"ABC World News Saturday with David Muir"

For the 2012-13 television season, " ABC World News Saturday with David Muir" attracted 4.531 million Total Viewers and 987,000 Adults 25-54, according to Nielsen Media Research. "World News Saturday" built on the previous season (4.279 million and 941,000 for the 2011-12 season) by 6% in Total Viewers and by 5% Adults 25-54. "World News Saturday" was also the only Saturday newscast to improve on last season in both Nielsen measures as "CBS Saturday News" (+1%/-6%) was mixed, while "NBC Nightly News Saturday" (-10%/-20%) posted double-digit decreases.

• "World News Saturday" slashed more than half of its season margins with "NBC Nightly News Saturday" in both Total Viewers (-53% - 739,000 vs. 1.564 million) and Adults 25-54 (-66% - 180,000 vs. 524,000). In addition, "World News Saturday" saw its closest performance with the NBC newscast in 17 years in Total Viewers and in 18 years in Adults 25-54 - since the 1995-96 and the 1994-95 seasons, respectively.

• "World News Saturday" beat "CBS Saturday News" by 1.222 million Total Viewers and by 222,000 Adults 25-54.

"ABC World News Sunday with David Muir"

For the 2012-13 television season, " ABC World News Sunday with David Muir" averaged 4.842 million Total Viewers and 1.224 million Adults 25-54, according to Nielsen Media Research. "World News Sunday" improved on the previous season (4.739 million and 1.216 million for the 2011-12 season) in Total Viewers (+2%) and Adults 25-54 (+1%). In fact, "World News Sunday" stood as the only Sunday newscast to grow season to season in both Nielsen measures as "CBS Evening News Sunday" (+3%/-9%) was mixed, while "NBC Nightly News Sunday" (-12%/-20%) delivered double-digit losses.

• Building its Total Viewer audience for the 3rd year in a row, "World News Sunday" scored its most-watched season in 7 years - since the 2005-06 season.

• "World News Sunday" slashed more than three-quarters of its season margins with "NBC Nightly News Sunday" in both Total Viewers (-78% - 227,000 vs. 1.025 million) and Adults 25-54 (-79% - 90,000 vs. 432,000). In addition, "World News Sunday" saw in closest performance with the NBC newscast in 15 years in Total Viewers and in 16 years in Adults 25-54 - since the 1997-98 and the 1996-97 seasons, respectively.

• "World News Sunday" beat "CBS Evening News Sunday" by 952,000 Total Viewers and by 312,000 Adults 25-54, leading the CBS program by its largest demo margin in 3 years - since the 2009-10 season. In addition, "World News Sunday" turned in its 2nd-largest Total Viewer advantage (behind only the 2010-11 season) over the CBS program in 11 years - since the 2001-02 season.

"Good Morning America Saturday"

ABC's "Good Morning, America Saturday" was No. 1 for the first-time ever, winning the 2012-13 season in both Total Viewers (3.647 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.223 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. "GMA Saturday's" season-winning performance was achieved with the show's strongest numbers ever since debuting in its current format in September 2004.

• "GMA Saturday" stood as the only morning newscast to grow over the previous season in both Total Viewers (+10%) and Adults 25-54 (+2%) compared to NBC's "Saturday Today" (flat/-4%) and CBS' "Saturday Early Show" (-1%/-7%)

• "GMA Saturday" outdelivered "Saturday Today" for the first time, leading the NBC program by 135,000 Total Viewers and by 11,000 Adults 25-54.

• "GMA Saturday" also outperformed CBS' "Saturday Early Show" with its largest-ever season advantages in both Total Viewers (1.905 million) and Adults 25-54 (628,000).

"Good Morning America Sunday"

ABC's "Good Morning America Sunday" drew 3.228 million Total Viewers and 1.015 million Adults 25-54 during the 2012-13 television season, according to Nielsen Media Research. "GMA Sunday" improved over the previous season (2.875 million and 992,000, respectively) in both Total Viewer (+12%) and Adults 25-54 (+2%). In fact, in Total Viewers, "GMA Sunday" increased in every season since its debut, attracting its largest overall audience ever. "GMA Sunday" debuted in its current format in September 2004.

• Compared to its margins during the 2011-12 season, "GMA Sunday" slashed its margins with NBC's "Sunday Today" in both Total Viewers (-89% - 55,000 vs. 484,000) and Adults 25-54 (-68% - 68,000 vs. 215,000), delivering its closest performance ever with the NBC program.

"America This Morning"

ABC's "America This Morning" ranked No. 1 for the 2012-13 season in both Total Viewers (1.439 million) and Adults 25-54 (606,000), according to Nielsen Media Research . This marked the 12th consecutive year for the ABC News program to hold the top spot in both measures - since the 2001-02 season.

• "America This Morning" registered double-digit growth over the 2011-12 season (1.205 million and 549,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+19%) and Adults 25-54 (+10%) to draw its largest overall audience in 3 years - since the 2009-10 season. Competitively, the ABC program stood as the only program to grow in both measures as "CBS Morning News" (+4%/-2%) was mixed, while NBC's "Early Today" (-7%/-12%) turned in losses.

• "America This Morning" more than doubled the performance of NBC's "Early Today" (660,000 and 302,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+118%) and Adults 25-54 (+101%). Further, "America This Morning" posted its largest overall viewer advantage (+779,000) over the NBC program in more than 21 years - since before the 1991-92 season; Nielsen's electronic database started on September of 1991.

• "America This Morning" beat "CBS Morning News" (890,000 and 338,000, respectively) by 549,000 Total Viewers and by 218,000 Adults 25-54, leading the CBS program by is largest overall viewer advantage in 19 years - since the 1993-94 season.

"World News Now"

For the 2012-13 season, ABC's "World News Now" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (651,000) and Adults 25-54 (269,000), according to Nielsen Media Research. "World News Now" beat CBS (464,000 and 210,000, respectively - "Up to the Minute") and NBC (508,000 and 249,000, respectively - Various Network Programming) competition. Head-to-head, " World News Now" led CBS' "Up to the Minute" by its largest Total Viewer advantage (+187,000) in 10 years - since the 2002-03 season.

• "World News Now" improved on its 2011-12 season performance (537,000 and 256,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+21%) and Adults 25-54 (+5%), attracting its largest overall audience in 6 years - since the 2006-07 season . In fact, the ABC program was the only Net to grow season-to-season, compared to both NBC's Various Network Programming in the 2:00-4:00 a.m. time slot (-10%/-12%) and CBS "Up to the Minute" (flat/-13%) .

ABC News Digital

• For 19 consecutive months the Yahoo!-ABC News Network has delivered more page views, total unique users and total minutes than any other online news source, making it the #1 source for news and information online.

• GoodMorningAmerica.com on Yahoo! is the #1 morning news show website. In August GoodMorningAmerica.com on Yahoo! maintained its audience lead over Today.com with over 21 million unique users. Additionally, over 14.5 million unique viewers turned to GoodMorningAmerica.com on Yahoo! last month for video content, exceeding Today.com's 8.1 million unique viewers.

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Most Current: 2012-2013 Season (9/24/12 - 9/22/13) and 2011-2012 Season (9/19/11 - 9/23/12), unless otherwise stated. All averages based on regular telecasts. (*Note: Due to coverage of Hurricane Sandy, w/o 10/29/12 was coded as a breakout and is excluded from the season count). For "Nightline," ABC, CBS and NBC program averages (1/7 - 9/22/13), excludes 1/7/13 telecast of "Nightline." Year-ago program averages - 1/9 - 9/23/12.

Source: comScore Video Metrix Key Measures, August 2013; comScore Media Metrix, August 2013

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