Nielsen: Mike & Molly is Most Engaging New Program

NEW YORK: The CBS comedy Mike & Molly ranks as the most engaging new program among all major demos, according to data from Nielsen, followed by FOX’s Raising Hope and Running Wilde and ABC’s The Event in a three-way tie.

Rounding out the top five is ABC’s No Ordinary Family.

This season’s new comedies are showing a significant gain in viewer engagement, with a 5-percent increase over last year. Overall, there is a 2-percent gain in program engagement for this season’s new shows versus last season’s.

Older audiences, aged 35-plus, show higher engagement in general with the new shows than younger viewers, those 13 to 34.

“It’s interesting that this year’s most engaging new series run the gamut from single- and multi-camera comedies to serialized dramas,” said Dave Kaplan, the senior VP with Nielsen’s advertising effectiveness business. “Some may think of high-action dramas as the most gripping shows, but the significant gain among comedies is a clear indication that genre alone doesn’t dictate audience attention levels—it’s all about the program.”