ABC

ABC is now the network to beat on Thursday night. With a solid premiere for the new show Expedition Impossible, the network earned an easy victory over No. 2 Fox last night, averaging a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share in primetime. Impossible averaged a 2.3 at 9 p.m., tying with lead-in Wipeout as the night’s top show. And the new adventure program from Mark Burnett held 100% of Wipeout‘s lead-in, always a good sign for a debut.

ABC’s latenight show begins a summertime series at 10 p.m.tonight, covering topics such as satanic possession, religious miracles, psychics and out-of-body experiences.

The network averaged 11% to 12% price increases for $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion in commitments, according to industry estimates.

With close games and popular players, this year’s Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks NBA finals on ABC are on pace to be the highest rated since 2004, outpacing even last year’s Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics matchup. Through four games, the series is averaging 15.54 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, up 20,000 over last year. Among adults 18-49, the series is averaging a 6.4 rating, up 0.1 from last year.

Another close game between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks boosted ABC to No. 1 in primetime. The Heat took a 2-1 series lead with last night’s 88-86 victory, which produced the second-best game three ratings in the past seven years. The contest averaged an 11.1 household rating, according to Nielsen metered-market ratings, trailing last year’s game three between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics by 0.4 ratings points.

Katie Couric is set to announce today that she will sign with ABC for a syndicated talk show. The details of Couric’s impending deal with ABC have not been disclosed, but as co-owner of the show she will claim a share of the profits.

Katie Couric could announce as early as Monday a move to ABC that would include a syndicated daytime talk show and contributions to ABC News, a person familiar with the negotiations says. Though the deal is not complete, it is close, and should be announced at some point next week if not Monday.

With Fox having finished its primetime upfront advertising sales, Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce on Friday slightly lowered his predictions for the kind of upfront sales price increases that ABC and NBC will fetch.

The Dallas Mavericks tied up the NBA finals 1-1 last night after a dramatic rally from 15 points down in the fourth quarter, boosting ABC to an easy Thursday night victory. The game averaged a 10.5 metered-market household rating, down from a 10.9 for last year’s game two between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. But it was the second-highest-rated game two in the past seven years, behind only last year’s contest.

ABC and CW have been active in making some media agency upfront deals — following Fox’s move, now nearly completing its TV upfront market sales process. ABC, running on the heels of broadcast leader Fox, has been making media agreements with CPM increases in the 9% to 10% range, according to media agency executives.

The summer’s new shows have begun to debut, and it looks as though ABC already has a mild hit in Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. The latest in the long-running franchise averaged a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating in the 10 p.m. timeslot in its premiere last night, becoming ABC’s best new summer debut since August 2009. Weight was the No. 1 show on broadcast last night, and it even grew from its lead-in, the long-established reality show The Bachelorette, which averaged a 2.1 from 8 to 10 p.m.

Two networks — Fox and ABC — were interested in moving the upfront market late this week, according to media-buying executives. The major networks have been putting in long nights over the last several days to firm up their pricing. Media buyers say Fox is initially asking 14% increases on the cost-per-thousand viewers. That comes with the understanding of Fox’s goal: to get at least 11% to 12% closing price increases.

When Katie Couric started looking for a new job, ABC was put ABC on the back burner because its executives were offering her a daytime talk show that would be owned by the network and air only on its stations. But in mid-March, under the direction of Disney CEO Robert Iger, ABC switched gears. The company pitched a syndicated package that catapulted it into contention. Under the multi-year proposal now on the table, Couric would have almost total ownership of the venture — giving her the potential to make far more than her $15 million-a-year anchor salary.

The three-hour ABC Weekend Adventure will make its debut on Sept. 3. The weekend block of six half-hour E/I shows will air on most ABC O&Os and affiliates.

Part one of the two-part season finale of ABC’s reality show Dancing with the Stars drew strong ratings last night, though not quite as strong as the comparable show last fall. Stars averaged a 4.6 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., easily the highest-rated show of the night. It was down 6% from a 4.9 last fall, not bad considering that show had controversy magnet Bristol Palin.

The Billboard Music Awards drew solid ratings last night, strong enough to lift ABC to No. 1 past other networks airing season finales. Billboard averaged a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 11 p.m., boosting ABC to a 2.6 rating and 7 share for the night, 18% ahead of second-place Fox’s 2.2/6. The Billboard awards hadn’t aired on broadcast since a 2006 showing on Fox, and they were up a bit, 7%, over that most recent showing.

Dancing with the Stars‘ ratings heated up for last night’s semifinal performance as a number of broadcast shows saw their numbers climb on an evening full of season finales. Dancing was the night’s top-rated show with a 4.4 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., up from a 4.2 last week and leading ABC to an easy victory on the night, 52% ahead of No. 2 Fox.

After a disappointing season in which the majority of its new shows flopped and many aging ones saw ratings declines, ABC has made sweeping changes for this fall. The network will use established hits to launch new shows and shake up all but two nights, with Monday the only weeknight returning intact.

Today co-hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry could soon find themselves at war for morning ratings against their former colleague, Katie Couric, when she lands at ABC.As part of a deal being negotiated between Couric and ABC for a daytime syndicated talk show, she’ll also be making “strategic guest appearances” on Good Morning America that will put her in a direct rivalry with Lauer, sources say.

Operating income at Disney’s media networks, including ESPN and ABC, rose 17% to $1.5 billion; revenues rose 12% to $4.3 billion. At the cable networks, operating income rose 15% to $1.357 billion as revenues rose 17% to $2.8 billion. At its broadcasting operations, operating income rose 36% to $167 million as revenues rose 4% to $1.5 billion.

Katie Couric and ABC are on the verge of signing a $20 million deal, which would give Couric her own talk show, as well as significant involvement in ABC News — and the big casualty could be General Hospital.

After possible suitors had been whittled to two — CBS and ABC — CBS TV Distribution pulled its offer for a syndicated daytime talk show with her over a week ago, before Couric officially announced her exit from CBS Evening News last Tuesday. Meanwhile, talks between Couric and ABC, which was the last major player to enter the fray, are ongoing as ABC is finalizing its offer.

After protracted negotiations, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ board of governors approved the deal Wednesday night with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

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Without a cushy lead-in from Modern Family, Happy Endings slid to some sadder numbers last night. The new ABC sitcom aired back-to-back episodes at 10 p.m. that averaged a 1.8 and 1.6 adults 18-49 rating respectively. That was down from last week, when Endings averaged a 2.7 and 2.3 at 9:30 and 10, though it did mark an improvement over recent ratings for timeslot occupant Off the Map on ABC.

Following the network’s cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Live, the vacuum maker says it’s starting a campaign to get ABC to reverse its decision.

How much will ABC dance away with this spring? Can CBS ride the Hawaii 5-0 wave? Can the new bosses turn around NBC? Here’s a handy guide to what the big names in TV have going for them, and what baggage they carry.

ABC, CNN and CBS news executives headed to NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Center headquarters in New York to discuss the safety and well-being of freelance journalists who increasingly serve the network news divisions worldwide.

WGAE says it’s “deeply disappointed” that All My Children and One Life to Live will go dark, while AFTRA says it’s a “devastating loss” for its members.

ABC is confirming that All My Children and One Life to Live will end their storied runs in September 2011 and January 2012, respectively. The long-running soaps will be replaced by a pair of talk shows, the food-themed The Chew and the makeover-centric The Revolution.

The new ABC sitcom Happy Endings got pretty decent reviews, and it had a pretty decent debut as well, thanks mostly to lead-in Modern Family. Endings averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating at 9:30 p.m. last night, holding 71% of Family‘s 3.8 at 9 p.m.

ABC’s new drama Body of Proof fell in its second week, but it still dominated its 10 p.m. timeslot against second-year shows on NBC and CBS. Proof averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m. last night, down 20% from last week’s 3.0 for its premiere.