Quick Take for Thursday, January 31, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Dominates the Opening Night of the February Sweep, Winning the First Night of the Sweep for Just the Second Time in at Least the Past 16 Years

ABC Posts its Top Results on the Night Since Season Premiere Thursday in September

"Lost: Past, Present & Future" Series Re-Cap Special Leads by Wide Margins at 8pm

On its First Telecast in 8 Months and Moving to a New Night, ABC's "Lost" Returns As the Dominant No. 1 TV Program On Thursday in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

In its Fourth Season Opener, "Lost" Produces its Top Numbers in Nearly 15 Months

The Debut of ABC's "Eli Stone" Wins the 10 O'clock Hour in Viewers and Young Adults, Generating the Net's Best Series Numbers in the Time Period in 4 Months

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC took full command of the opening night of the 2008 February Sweep, beating its nearest competition on the evening by 3.2 million viewers (13.6 million vs. 10.4 million � CBS) and by 66% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/14 vs. 3.2/8 - Fox). In fact, ABC ranked No. 1 in each half-hour of the evening among Adults 18-49, delivering the Top 3 TV shows of the night in the key sales demo with "Lost," "Lost: Past, Present & Future" and "Eli Stone," respectively.

� ABC drew its biggest audience and top Adult 18-49 rating on the night since season premiere Thursday in September (9/27/07). Among Men 18-49 (4.7/13) and Men 25-54 (5.3/13), ABC registered its highest-rated non-sports Thursday in 5 years � since 2/6/03.

� After taking first on the year-ago night, it was just the second time in at least the 16 years that ABC has won the opening night of a February Sweep � going back to the start of Nielsen's electronic data base in September 1991.

"Lost: Past, Present & Future" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's special re-capping the series, "Lost: Past, Present & Future," ranked a definitive No. 1 from 8:00-9:00 p.m., topping second-place Fox's "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" by 2.5 million viewers (13.1 million vs. 10.6 million) and by 58% in Adults 18-49 (4.9/13 vs. 3.1/8).

� The "Lost" special generated ABC's highest non-sports Men 18-34 rating (3.6/12) in the hour in 5 years, and driven by the strong men numbers, its top Adult 18-49 number since September '06 � since 2/6/03 and 9/28/06, respectively.

"Lost" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

In its first original telecast in 8 months (since 5/23/07) on its new night, ABC's fourth season premiere of "Lost" jumped from its lead-in and gained audience from start to finish. Emerging as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Total Viewers (16.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (6.7/16), "Lost" also dominated its new 9 o'clock time slot. In its time period, "Lost" outpaced its closest competitors by 4.2 million viewers (CBS' "C.S.I." = 11.9 million) and by 103% in Adults 18-49 (Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" = 3.3/8). NBC's time period regular, "Celebrity Apprentice," was a distant fourth place in Total Viewers and tied for third in Adults 18-49 (6.9 million & 2.8/7).

� "Lost" marked the series' largest audience and top Adult 18-49 rating in nearly 15 months - since its "fall finale" on 11/8/06. In addition, "Lost" improved on its 2006-07 Live + Same Day TV Season averages (all originals) by 2.3 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (13.8 million & 5.9/15). It should also be noted when looking at the numbers for the show, "Lost" was among the most recorded and played back TV shows last season, gaining 1.3 million viewers and 12% in Adults 18-49 on average from its Live + Same Day to its Live + 7 Day numbers.

� "Lost" generated ABC's highest ratings in the time period across each of the men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) in nearly 1 year � since 2/22/07.

"Eli Stone" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the final hour of the night, ABC's debut of "Eli Stone" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers (11.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/11).

� "Eli Stone" produced ABC's top viewer and young adult numbers in the time period with regular programming in 4 months � since 9/27/07. The new series attracted ABC's best numbers in time slot across the men demos since May '07: M18-34 (2.9/9 � since 5/17/07), M18-49 (3.5/10 � since 5/3/07) and M25-54 (4.2/11 � since 5/3/07).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year to year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating trends based on the Live + Same Day data stream may be somewhat distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has nearly doubled from 12% at the same point in 2006, up to 22% currently. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. Therefore, 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 Day Ratings), 1/31/08.