ABC Claims High Social Engagement Amid Traditional TV Metric Declines

Beverly Hills, Calif. -- When it comes to traditional TV viewership, ABC didn’t have a strong 2016-2017 TV season, which was on par with most broadcast networks. But it claimed good results in other areas: social media and delayed viewing data.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association meeting here, Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, commented on broadcast TV detractors. “I don’t think they are actually taking audiences into account," she said. “We are the most social network; our viewers make an effort to watch. And because they make that effort, they are more engaged.”

Dungey added: “We do incredibly well with a majority of our shows doing double their [live] ratings [with delayed viewing]. We have more serialized programs, which tend to be viewed more in the delayed pattern.”

Looking at traditional TV metrics for the 2017-2018 TV season, ABC was down 11% to an average 1.6 Nielsen live-program-plus-same-day rating among key 18-49 viewers. It was off 9% in total viewers to 6.2 million.

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From a TV ad-revenue standpoint, Disney-ABC posted an estimated 6% to 8% gain in total upfront volume for all it networks. CPMs (cost-per-thousand viewer price) increased. According to the network, it was in the “high single digits across all dayparts and cable.” 

ABC Television Network's upfront volume was roughly around $1.94 billion for the 2017-2018 upfront market -- up from $1.8 billion the year before.

Although ABC suffered in its overall TV ratings, for comedy, Dungey says the networks has six of the top 10 comedies on broadcast TV.

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