New Year's Eve Ratings: Dick Clark's 40th Anniversary Gives ABC 11-Year High

Overnight numbers give the network 22.6 million viewers for its late-night ball drop coverage from Times Square.

4:24 PM PST 1/1/2012 by Michael O'Connell

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The ABC broadcast of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest grew by all counts on the last night of 2011.

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The duo, joined by Jenny McCarthy and Fergie, gave the network its largest audience in 11 years and its strongest showing among adults 18-49 in 8 years, according to Nielsen fast national ratings.

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Between 11:35 p.m. and 12:32 a.m., ABC's coverage of the ball drop in Times Square averaged 22.6 million viewers and a 7.4 rating among adults 18-49. It marks a 3.8 million gain among total viewers and a 19 percent improvement in the key demo. An encore at 1:00 a.m. also posted double digit growth in both categories.

During primetime, the super-sized 5.5 hour show gave the network an average 9.8 million viewers and a 3.0 among adults 18-49, topping the other three nets combined. Rockin' Eve's only network competitor, NBC's New Year's Eve With Carson Daily, earned a 0.9 among adults 18-49 and 3 million viewers between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. (NBC's late night numbers weren't immediately available.)

New Year's Rockin' Eve is only eclipsed by the Academy Awards on ABC's specials calendar.