• Thursday, April 30, 2009
    ABC Television Network
    PRESS RELEASE - PRESS RELEASE - ENTERTAINMENT -
    ABC OVERNIGHT RATINGS (FOR 4/29)
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    Quick Take for Wednesday, April 29, 2009
    (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

    Growing by 14% over the Year-Ago Night in Adults 18-49, ABC is
    Up Over the Same Wednesday Last Year for 11 Consecutive Weeks

    On its Return After the Prior Week's Clip-Show, "Lost" Stands as Wednesday's
    No. 1 Scripted TV Series in Adults 18-49 for its 13th Straight Original Broadcast

    "Lost" Beats its Non-"Idol" Competition at 9pm by Wide Margins in Adults 18-49

    "The Unusuals" Posts Week-to-Week Increases in Viewers and Adults 18-49

    ABC's "The Unusuals" is Among the Top Gainers on the Major Nets in DVR Playback

    Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
    ABC finished No. 2 to an "Idol"-fueled on Wednesday night in Adults 18-34 (2.1/7) and key Men:  M18-34 (2.1/7) and M18-49 (2.2/6).   Among Adults 18-34, ABC (2.1/7) bested third-place CBS by 24% (1.7/5) and fourth-place NBC by 75% (1.2/4). 

    * Gaining 14% from the year-ago night in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 2.1/6 on 4/30/08) ABC marked its 11th consecutive Wednesday delivering a year-to-year increase in the key young adult sales demo.

    "Lost" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
    ABC's "Lost" beat out its non-"Idol" competition in the 9 o'clock hour by wide margins among Adults 18-49 (3.9/10), outdelivering CBS' original "Criminal Minds" by 18% (3.3/8) and NBC's replay "Law & Order: SVU" by 200% (1.3/3).  In fact "Lost" marked its 100th episode, standing as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show for its 13th straight original telecast in Adults 18-49.

    * Coming off the prior week's clip-show, "Lost" was up week to week by 2.1 million viewers (8.8 million vs. 6.7 million) and by 34% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/10 vs. 2.9/7).

    "The Unusuals" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
    ABC's "The Unusuals" was up week to week by 9% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.7 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.4/4).

    Season-to-Date DVR Playback for "The Unusuals":  Jumping by 24% and 5-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (2.1 to 2.6) from its first-reported Live + Same Day numbers to the finalized Live + 7 Day averages, "The Unusuals" is currently ABC's biggest-percentage gainer through DVR playback and the 3rd-highest series on the major TV networks this season.   The 10 o'clock ABC freshman drama also gains 1.1 million viewers (6.9 million to 8.0 million) from the overnights to the finals, through DVR playback.  

    A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 31% currently, from 24% at the same point in 2008.

    More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

    Source:  Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Ratings), 4/29/09.  
     
    ABC Media Relations Contact:
    Jeff Lindsey (818) 460-5095 / Pons Rongavilla (818) 460-5615 / Susan Sewell (212) 456-1508