ABC Delivers Substantial Increases During the February Sweep, with the Super Bowl and Strong Series Performances Opposite the Winter Olympics
ABC Marks its Best Numbers During Any Sweep Period Since May 2000
Overall 2006 February Sweep Performance (28 Complete Nights):
ABC finished with strong increases during the 2006 February Sweep among viewers and across each of the adult demographics over last February. ABC was up by +29% in Total Viewers (14.4 million vs. 11.2 million), by 33% in Adults 18-34 (4.4/13 vs. 3.3/10), by +29% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13 vs. 4.1/11) and by 28% in Adults 25-54 (6.0/14 vs. 4.7/11) compared to February 2005. Please Note: Last year�s overall sweep averages include the 2005 Academy Awards, which did not air this February, but did air on the final Sunday of the �05 February Sweep (on 2/27/05).
� The Network�s year-to-year gains were largely a result of aggressive series scheduling and successful counter-programming against NBC�s 2006 Winter Olympics. Factoring out the 2006 Super Bowl and its Post-Game along with the 2005 Academy Awards telecast from the averages, ABC improved its February Sweep results across the board over last year: +10% in Total Viewers, +10% in Adults 18-34, +8% in Adults 18-49 and +12% in Adults 25-54. Additionally, despite going opposite the Winter Olympics on most evenings, ABC was up on 14 nights of the 2006 February Sweep among Adults 18-49, as compared to last year.
� ABC produced its largest audience and highest Adult 18-49 rating during any sweep period since May 2000.
� Competitively, ABC won the 2006 February Sweep in the key Adult 18-49 demographic and placed second among Total Viewers. It was ABC�s second consecutive sweep period to rank No. 1 in Adults 18-49, after tying with CBS for the top position in the 2005 November Sweep.
2006 February Sweep � Other Highlights (Programs/Nights/News Lead-in):
� Series Rankings: In Adults 18-49, ABC claimed 5 the Top 20 television series during the 2006 February Sweep, including 2 of the Top 4: �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 3, �Desperate Housewives� � No. 4, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 9, �Lost� � No. 11 and �Dancing with the Stars� � No. 16. ABC aired 5 of the Top 15 most-watched TV series of the month: �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 3, �Desperate Housewives� � No. 4, �Dancing with the Stars� � No. 7, �Dancing with the Stars the Results� � No. 11 and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 12. ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� and �Desperate Housewives� stood as the Top 2 scripted series of the Sweep in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
� Individual Telecast Rankings: The Network broadcasted the Top 2 individual program telecasts of the February Sweep in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, with �Super Bowl XL� and �Grey�s Anatomy� on 2/5/06. ABC News claimed TV�s No. 1 newsmagazine telecast during February in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 with �Primetime� on 2/23/06. In fact, it was TV�s highest-rated newsmagazine telecast since 1/8/06.
� Rank and Growth by Night: ABC qualified as the No. 1 network on Sunday during the 2006 February Sweep among Adults 18-49, winning all 4 Sundays of the month. ABC earned second place on Friday during the Sweep among Adults 18-49. Versus last February, despite going against the Winter Olympics, ABC was up on 4 of 7 nights in the key young adult sales demo: Monday (+11%), Thursday (+27%), Friday (+7%) and Sunday (+100%).
� Network 10:30 p.m. Late Local News Lead-in (Mon.-Sun.): ABC is offered its stations an improved lead-in to the late local news during the February Sweep. In the 10:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC was up by 13% among Adults 25-54 (5.2/12 vs. 4.6/11) and by 15% among Adults 18-49 (4.6/12 vs. 4.0/10), as compared to last February. In fact during the sweep, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� ranked as the No. 1 TV program on any network in the 10 o�clock hour among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, NTI (2/2-3/1/06 vs. 2/3-3/2/05), or as dated. Series rankings based on regular programs only.
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