WABC-TV is most watched station in the New York area, nation

NEW YORK (WABC) -- WABC-TV extended its run as the most watched station in the New York market and the country, according to the May 2015 Nielsen audience measurement period.

The flagship station captured a 3.5 rating/9 share in DMA Households, Monday-Sunday Sign-On to Sign-Off, and achieved year-to-year growth in the country's largest market. With each rating point representing 74,423 Tri-State area TV households, ABC7 attracts a larger audience than any other television station in the nation.

WABC-TV's signature "Eyewitness News" franchise led all other news stations throughout the day and displayed much year-to-year growth. ABC7 is also No. 1 in the Tri-State area on social media, with more Facebook Likes and Twitter followers than any other local broadcast TV station.

WABC-TV's daily ratings success begins with the early morning news. The station's "Eyewitness News This Morning," with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato, Bill Evans and Heather O'Rourke, boasts the highest ratings from 4:30-5 a.m. among DMA Households. At 5 a.m., WABC-TV leads in DMA Households with a rating equal to its two closest competitors combined.

It is No. 1 among Adults 25-54 with twice as many viewers as its closest competitor, and also boasts year-to-year growth of 71 percent in this key area. At 6 a.m., "Eyewitness News This Morning" holds a 52 percent lead among DMA Households and also maintains a stellar 58 percent advantage among Adults 25-54. The 6 a.m. broadcast also has more Adults 25-54 watching than last May.

"Good Morning America" leads the ratings in the country's largest market from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. with a 58 percent advantage over its closest competitor in DMA Households. It also maintains a 31 percent advantage among Women 25-54 and a 27 percent edge among Adults 25-54.

At 9 a.m., "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" is No. 1 among DMA Households, attracting more than twice as many viewers as any other program in its time period. The longtime weekday morning staple is also up 17 percent from last year among DMA Households. "LIVE" also attracts at least twice as many viewers as any competitor among Women 25-54 and has significantly increased in that area over last year. Nationally, the show delivered its highest Household ratings in eight years this season, and ranks No. 2 nationally among daytime talk shows despite airing in an earlier time period than most of its competitors. The program is produced by WABC-TV and syndicated nationally.

"Eyewitness News at Noon," with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato and Bill Evans, expanded to one hour at the start of the TV season last fall, the only midday newscast in the market to do so. It continues to be No. 1 among DMA Households and all key demographics.

ABC's "The Chew" follows "Eyewitness News" and wins its time period in DMA Households with 20 percent growth from last year, and also wins its time period among Women 25-54.

At 3 p.m., longtime ABC mainstay "General Hospital" wins its time period among DMA Households while maintaining a 60 percent advantage over its closest competitor among Women 25-54.

WABC-TV's "Eyewitness News First at 4," with Liz Cho, David Novarro and Lee Goldberg, grew 43 percent year-to-year among Adults 25-54. The show tops all of its evening news competitors that air at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in Adults 25-54 despite airing in an earlier time period with lower viewing levels.

"Eyewitness News at 5," with Diana Williams, Sade Baderinwa and Lee Goldberg, maintains its customary No. 1 spot among DMA Households. It also leads among Adults 25-54 by a 44 percent margin over its closest competitor.

The weekday edition of "Eyewitness News at 6," with Bill Ritter, Liz Cho, Lee Goldberg and Rob Powers, holds a 44 percent advantage in DMA Households and attracts more Adults 25-54 than any two of its competitors combined. This sweep marks the 135th consecutive ratings survey period that WABC-TV has finished an outright No. 1 in DMA Households among local M-F 6 p.m. newscasts.

"Eyewitness News at 11," featuring Bill Ritter, Sade Baderinwa, Lee Goldberg and Rob Powers, ranks No. 1 in DMA Households with a 22 percent edge over its closest competitor. The program also attracts nearly twice as many Adults 25-54 as its closest competitor.

"Eyewitness News" is equally strong on Saturdays and Sundays, where WABC-TV airs more local morning news than any of its competitors. "Eyewitness News This Morning," with Michelle Charlesworth, Rob Nelson and Amy Freeze collectively ranks No. 1 among DMA Households and Adults 25-54, with growth over last year. On weekend nights, "Eyewitness News at 11," featuring Joe Torres, Sandra Bookman, Laura Behnke and Jeff Smith, is No. 1 among DMA Households and Adults 25-54. "Eyewitness News" was the first local 11 p.m. newscast to expand to a full hour on the weekends and consistently performs well in that extra time.

ABC's longtime mainstay "The View" continues to win its time period among Women 25-54.

"World News Tonight with David Muir," in its first May Sweep with David Muir in the anchor chair, leads its closest network news competitor by 66 percent among DMA Households and attracts more Adult 25-54 viewers than both of its competitors combined. It is also up year-to-year in both categories.

In Late Night, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and long-running staple "Nightline" continue to perform well at 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., respectively.

The syndicated "Rachael Ray" wins her 10 a.m. time period among DMA Households, and is up 33 percent from last year in that area. The program also doubled its Women 25-54 viewers over last year.

From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" continue to win their Prime Access time periods in DMA Households and most key demographics, including Adults and Women 25-54.

In prime, WABC-TV finishes the sweep ranked No. 1 in DMA Households and all key demographics. ABC has strength throughout the week with many of the top regularly scheduled programs including "Scandal," "Modern Family," "The Goldbergs," "Dancing with the Stars," "Black-ish," "Once Upon A Time," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Shark Tank."

WABC-TV also uses data from Rentrak, a new television measurement service that uses set-top box data to gauge audience viewership. Rentrak data has a 10-day delay, so current May survey data covers only the period of April 23rd through May 7th. Based on this data, WABC-TV ranks No. 1 in Household viewership in every single daypart. No matter which measurement service is used, WABC-TV is No. 1 in the New York market.

ABC7's 7online is No. 1 in Monthly Unique Users among all local broadcast station sites in the market. Including 7online, WABC-TV routinely sees more than 40 million monthly page views across its digital platforms. Channel 7's Eyewitness News apps for iPhone and Android generate millions of monthly impressions, while WABC-TV's Alarm Apps and Weather App also continue to perform well in the market.

ABC7 also continues to maintain a strong presence among social media, with nearly 1.2 million Facebook Likes, ranking No. 1 in the market among local broadcast TV station pages. Channel 7 also ranks No. 1 on Twitter among local station feeds, with 214,000 followers of its main feed to go with 654,000 followers across all its feeds.

The WATCH ABC app continues to grow, helping to deliver content to an increasing array of platforms. ABC7 also recently introduced its app for the Apple Watch, continuing to reach its viewers wherever they might be.

WABC-TV, Channel 7, is the ABC, Inc. owned television station in New York City.

Source: Nielsen, Omniture, Facebook Insights, Twitter, Rentrak, comScore.