‘Bachelor’-fueled ABC wins another Monday

ABC continued its midseason Monday night surge, finishing No. 1 for the second straight week with a lineup fueled by “The Bachelor.”

The network averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights, just ahead of Fox at 2.5/7 and CBS at 2.5/6.

Last week ABC and CBS tied for first for the night, but last night CBS aired a rerun at 10 p.m., which pulled down its nightly average.

The two-hour “Bachelor” was down 3 percent from last week’s season-high 3.0 to a 2.9. It drew a 3.0 in its final hour and finished first in the competitive 9 p.m. timeslot.

Lead-out “Castle” tied last week’s season-high 2.3 at 10 p.m. and finished first in the timeslot.

CBS still had the night’s highest-rated show, “How I Met Your Mother,” which averaged a 3.4 at 8 p.m.

Its 9 p.m. comedy “2 Broke Girls” was the night’s No. 2 show, though it tied a series low with a 3.2.

Fox’s “The Following” was off 4 percent from last week to a 2.7 at 9 p.m., finishing as the evening’s No. 1 drama (against scant competition with CBS’s “Hawaii Five-0” a repeat).

With ABC in first, Fox second and CBS third in primetime, NBC placed fourth at 1.8/5, Univision fifth at 1.6/4, Telemundo sixth at 0.6/2 and CW seventh at 0.4/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-seven percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 3.0 for “Mother” (3.4) and “Rules of Engagement” (2.6), followed by ABC with a 2.8 for “Bachelor.” Fox was third with a 2.3 for “Bones,” NBC fourth with a 2.1 for “The Biggest Loser,” Univision fifth with a 1.7 for “Por Ella Soy Eva,” and CW and Telemundo tied for sixth at 0.5, CW for “The Carrie Diaries” and Telemundo for “Pasion Prohibida.”

ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.0 for more “Bachelor,” while CBS slipped to second with a 2.9 for “Girls” (3.2) and “Mike & Molly” (2.7). Fox was third with a 2.7 for “Following,” NBC fourth with a 2.2 for more “Loser,” Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Amores Verdaderos,” Telemundo sixth with a 0.9 for “La Patrona” and CW seventh with a 0.3 for “90210.”

At 10 p.m. ABC led with a 2.3 for “Castle,” with CBS second with a 1.4 for the “Hawaii” rerun. NBC and Univision tied for third at 1.2, NBC for “Deception” and Univision for “Amor Bravio,” and Telemundo was fifth with a 0.5 for “El Rostro de la Venganza.”

ABC was also first for the night among households with a 6.3 average overnight rating and a 10 share. CBS was second at 5.3/8, Fox third at 5.2/8, NBC fourth at 3.1/5, Univision fifth at 2.0/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.8/1 and CW seventh at 0.6/1.

Tags: abc, castle, cbs, cw, dvr, fox, how i met your mother, monday overnights, nbc, overnight ratings, overnights, primetime, season high, the bachelor, timeslot