ABC ranked a solid number one among Households, Total Viewers, Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Adults 25-54 on Thursday, January 4, the night in which the network aired an all-new LIVE episode of “The Golden Bachelor,” dubbed “The Golden Wedding,” and the primetime special “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling.”
According to Programming Insider, ABC averaged 4.13 million viewers compared with 2.43 million for NBC, 2.28 million for CBS, 1.72 million for FOX and 280,000 viewers for The CW. Among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, the key demos used to set advertising sales rates for primetime programming, the network also ranked number one with a 0.43 rating and 0.60 rating, respectively.
Among Adults 18-49, ABC’s 0.43 rating topped second-place NBC with its 0.29 rating, third place FOX with its 0.26 rating, CBS’ 0.18 rating and The CW’s 0.02 rating. In Adults 25-54, ABC did a 0.60 rating compared with NBC’s 0.45 rating, FOX’s 0.41 rating and CBS’ 0.30 rating. The CW ranked fifth with a 0.06 rating.
ABC was led by “The Golden Bachelor” (8:00-10:00 p.m.), the night’s most-watched and highest-rated series overall, averaging 4.968 million viewers, a 0.55 rating in Adults 18-49 and a 0.73 rating in Adults 25-54. Among Adults 18-34, the show was also number one with a 0.45 rating. The special episode of the hit unscripted series saw “Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner marry Theresa Nist on live television (East Coast broadcast, tape delayed West Coast) with former contestant and fan favorite Susan Noles officiating the wedding.
John & Joseph Photography/Disney
Following “The Golden Wedding” was ABC’s broadcast of “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling,” a primetime special celebrating 60 years of the network’s popular daytime drama series “General Hospital.”
The ABC special averaged 2.450 million viewers, tied for first place with NBC’s “Dateline” during the 10:00-11:00 p.m. time slot. CBS’ broadcast of “SEAL Team” ranked third among Total Viewers, averaging just 1.570 million viewers.
“General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling” also ranked number one among Households throughout the hour, with a 1.67 rating compared with the 1.59 rating for “Dateline” and the 0.97 rating for “SEAL Team.”
Among Adults 18-49, ABC’s special was in second place with a 0.2 rating, beating “SEAL Team” (0.12 rating) but behind “Dateline” (0.29 rating). Meanwhile, in Adults 25-54, the special did a 0.34 rating, again ranking second ahead of “SEAL Team” with its 0.22 rating but behind “Dateline” and its 0.45 rating. However, the special did rank a solid number one among Adults 18-34 with a 0.13 rating compared with second place “Dateline” and its 0.09 rating and “SEAL Team” with its 0.06 rating.
Eric McCandless/Disney
At the conclusion of the special, the network announced that Steve Burton would be reprising his role as Jason Morgan on the daytime drama series, with the actor set to make his return on-screen sometime early this year. To find out how his return to the series came together, click here.
For more on how the rest of primetime performed in the key ratings categories, including half-hour breakdowns, click here.