ABC took another New Year's Eve ratings crown on Monday night, besting all networks in adults 18-49 (3.1 rating) and total viewers (10.7 million). After the two-hour special honoring the show's founder, "New Year's Rockin' Eve Celebrates Dick Clark" (2.6 adults), the first hour of the official show, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest," started its road to midnight with a 4.1 adults rating. Even with its 2011 showing in the demo, the show surged in total viewers from last year with its largest haul since 2000 (13.3 million viewers).
The "Rockin' Eve" show was the first since Clark's passing from a heart attack in April.
ABC easily topped the evening, more than doubling its nearest competition, CBS, in total viewers, and beating its combined network competition by 15% in adults 18-49 (CBS, NBC and Fox combined).
