Schedules Plus, ABC Sunday

Schedules Plus is another innovative application of the historical ratings statistic A18-49+. I hope this will be the ultimate resource for comparing the evolution of shows, networks and timeslots over time, complete with ratings numbers that make a fair adjustment for the collective decline. Right now this only includes programs aired in the fall. Much more about the process that went into this at the bottom.

ABC Sunday looks at one of the most consistent lineups on any network. Setting aside that America's Funniest Home Videos is always at 7:00, the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives pairing aired together for seven full seasons (plus a few extra weeks at the beginning of fall 2011). Perhaps even more improbable was five full seasons out of a completely intact four-hour lineup during the Brothers & Sisters years.

ABC Sunday

	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30	Avg
2001-02	(movies)		Alias		The Practice		102
	77		104		125
2002-03	(movies)		Alias		The Practice		91
	61		101		111
2003-04	10-8		Alias		The Practice		80
	61		92		86
2004-05	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Boston Legal		184
	171		261		120
2005-06	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Grey's Anatomy		206
	147		249		223
2006-07	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Brothers and Sisters		152
	131		201		124
2007-08	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Brothers and Sisters		156
	138		203		128
2008-09	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Brothers and Sisters		135
	113		176		115
2009-10	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Brothers and Sisters		117
	99		151		101
2010-11	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition		Desperate Housewives		Brothers and Sisters		104
	90		136		87
2011-12	Once Upon a Time		Desperate Housewives		Pan Am		109
	139		116		71
2012-13	Once Upon a Time		Revenge		666 Park Ave		101
	129		101		72
2013-14	Once Upon a Time		Revenge		Betrayal		82
	116		82		47
2014-15	Once Upon a Time		Resurrection		Revenge		90
	130		74		66
Avg	114		146		105		122

2014-15 Update: One of the biggest surprises in the fall was just how heavily the use of Frozen characters boosted the early weeks of Once Upon a Time. Even with a significantly down second half, it ended up very close to even in raw numbers. Despite Once's fall boom, sophomore Resurrection completely melted down, but the network was still up in the last two hours since even those bad numbers crushed last year's Betrayal ratings. (And 9/8c midseason entry Secrets and Lies (89) also did well.) Still, Resurrection and Revenge were among the weakest links on the network, so they were both axed in favor of new dramas.

Notable midseason replacements:

• Both Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Grey's Anatomy began their Sunday runs as midseason replacements. Home Edition averaged a 100 in 2003-04, becoming much stronger when Housewives came around, while Grey's averaged a 199 in 2004-05.
• During the 2007-08 writer's strike, ABC briefly had an all-unscripted lineup on the night during the winter with Oprah's Big Give (112) at 9/8c and Here Come the Newlyweds (99) at 10/9c.

See here for more explanations/disclaimers about Schedules Plus.