Steamy premiere
for ABC's 'Bachelor'
Averages a 3.3 in 18-49s for two-hour season debut
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 5, 2010
It could be another big season for "The Bachelor." Coming off its most-buzzed-about cycle in years, the ABC reality show's 14th season premiere last night drew the franchise's best young adult rating since 2007.
"The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" averaged a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, up 6 percent over last year's 3.1.
It marked the show's highest-rated debut in four cycles, since the April 2007 bow. It drew 9.5 million total viewers, making it the second-most-watched opener for the show since April 2004.
It was no doubt helped by the revival of the franchise last year, when bachelor Jason set off a blogosphere bomb by dumping fiancé Melissa for runner-up Molly in a post-finale special.
Since then, Melissa became a celeb in her own right, nearly winning "Dancing with the Stars" and getting married last month to a new fiancé.
This "Bachelor" was also likely boosted by rumors, confirmed by host Chris Harrison, that a "Wings" contestant had been booted after she was discovered canoodling with one of the show's producers.
Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with a 4.2 average overnight rating and an 11 share. ABC was second at 3.1/8, CBS third at 2.7/7, NBC fourth at 2.0/5, Univision fifth at 1.4/4 and CW sixth at 0.4/1.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-four percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for Fox’s Fiesta Bowl between TCU and Boise State are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 4.0 for college football pregame and the beginning of the Fiesta Bowl, followed by ABC with a 3.0 for the first hour of “The Bachelor.” NBC was third with a 2.3 for the first hour of a 120-minute “Heroes,” CBS fourth with a 2.2 for repeats of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Accidentally On Purpose,” Univision fifth with a 1.4 for “En Nombre del Amor” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for a repeat of “One Tree Hill.”
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 4.5 for football, with ABC second with a 3.6 for more “Bachelor.” CBS was third with a 3.4 for reruns of “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory,” NBC fourth with a 2.1 for more “Heroes,” Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Sortilegio” and CW sixth with a 0.3 for a “Gossip Girl” rerun.
At 10 p.m. Fox was first with a 4.1 for more Fiesta Bowl, while ABC remained second with a 2.7 for “Conveyor Belt of Love.” CBS was third with a 2.4 for a repeat of “CSI: Miami” and Univision fourth with a 1.0 for “Cristina.”
Fox also led the night among households with a 7.8 average overnight rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 5.9/9, ABC third at 5.7/9, NBC fourth at 3.1/5, Univision fifth at 1.9/3 and CW sixth at 0.6/1.
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