According to the fast affiliate ratings for November 19, ABC's season finale of The Bachelor starring Bob Guiney drew an average audience of 18.5 million viewers and earned an 8.7 rating, 21 share among Adults 18-49 during its 2-hour telecast.
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The finale saw strong tune-in during each half-hour of its broadcast, gaining nearly 4.7 million viewers (16.1 million to 20.8 million) and 37% in Adults 18-49 (7.3/18 to 10.0/26) from its first half-hour to its final half-hour. ABC led the 9:00-11:00 p.m. time period by 3.0 million viewers and by 78% in Adults 18-49 over second-place NBC (15.5 million & 4.9/12). The Bachelor produced ABC's largest audience and highest Adult 18-49 rating in the time period in over a year - since November 20, 2002.
The Bachelor with Bob finale was up substantially over the season finale of the most recent edition of the franchise, last spring's The Bachelor with Andrew Firestone, but fell short of the franchise-high ratings established by the Fall 2002's edition of the The Bachelor that featured Aaron Buerge. Versus the finale for Andrew (which only drew a disappointing 15.1 million & 7.2/17 on May 18, 2003), The Bachelor with Bob was up by 3.4 million viewers and by 21% in Adults 18-49, however those numbers still fall well short of those established during November 2002, when Aaron Buerge's edition of the series brought in 25.9 million viewers and an 11.9/28 Adults 18-49 rating.
Among Adults 18-49, The Bachelor finale qualifies as ABC's highest-rated program broadcast this season and also as the highest-rated non-scripted program to air on any network this season. Additionally, the finale of The Bachelor is the highest rated non-Thursday night non-sports program to air on any network this season among Adults 18-34 (9.2/25) and Adults 18-49 (8.7/21),
Head-to-head from 10:00-11:00 p.m., The Bachelor overshadowed CBS' Victoria's Secret Fashion Show by 10.6 million viewers (20.0 million vs. 9.4 million) and by 159% in the key Adult 18-49 demo (9.6/24 vs. 3.7/9).