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[05/20/08 - 01:56 PM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of May 12, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC spins the numbers for the week of May 12-18.

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of May 12, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

Growing its Audience for the 4th Straight Week, Excluding Oscars Week, ABC Marks its Best Results in Nearly 6 Months in Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC Claims 6 of the Week's Top 15 TV Programs in Adults 18-49 and For the 6th Week in a Row Delivers Television's No. 1 Scripted Series

For the 9th Week Running, ABC's "DWTS" Wins its Slot in Viewers And Adults 18-49 and Stands as Monday's Most-Watched TV Program

Season Finale of "Samantha Who?" Marks Series' Top Numbers in 5 Weeks

Hitting Season Highs on its Finale in Viewers and Adults 18-49, "The Bachelor" Season Closer Draws ABC's Largest Series Audience in the Slot Since November

For the 7th Week in a Row, "DWTS Results" Surges from its Tuesday Lead-in to Overcome an "Idol"-Led Fox and Emerge as the Most-Watched Show in its Time Slot

ABC's "DWTS Results" Hits Season Highs with Viewers and Young Adults, Producing ABC's Top Numbers in Tuesday's 9pm Hour in Over 5 Months

ABC Tops its 4th Straight Thursday of the '08 May Sweep in Adults 18-49, Winning the Key Evening on All 8 May Sweep Thursdays Over the Past 2 Years

Growing its Overall Audience for the 2nd Straight Week and Up 13% in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Ugly Betty" Wins Thursday's 8pm Hour in Total Viewers and All Key Women

"Grey's Anatomy" Logs its 39th Original Telecast as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show In Adults 18-49, Ranking No. 1 on Every Original Airing Since Debuting in 2006

"Lost" is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults and Dominates its New 10pm Slot Among Adults 18-49 Over Season Finales of Dramas on CBS and NBC

ABC Tops Sunday for the 13th Straight Week in Adults 18-49 and Ranks No. 1 on Each Sunday for 4 Consecutive May Sweeps in the Key Sales Demo

Winning its Time Slot by 39% Opposite CBS' "Academy of Country Music Awards," ABC's "Home Edition" is Sunday's No. 2 TV Show in Adults 18-49 to "Housewives"

Sunday's No. 1 TV Show for the 6th Straight Week and on Every Original Airing this Season, "Desperate Housewives'" Season Finale Overshadows its Slot Competition

Excluding Oscar Sundays, "Desperate Housewives'" Fourth Season Finale Attracts ABC's Biggest Audience in the Sunday 9-11pm Time Period in Nearly 1-1/2 Years WEEK No. 34: During the final complete week of the '07-08 TV Season (w/o 5/12/08), ABC took second place in Total Viewers (9.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/9) for the 2nd consecutive weekly frame, continuing to draw more viewers than Fox and beat CBS among young adults. For the 4th week in a row, ABC ranked No. 1 among key women: W18-49 (4.2/11) and W25-54 (5.0/12). � Garnering is 4th straight week of overall viewer increases, excluding the week of its Academy Awards telecast (w/o 2/18/08), ABC generated its biggest audience and top Adult 18-49 rating in almost 6 months � since the w/o 11/26/07. Rankings: ABC claimed 6 of the week's Top 15 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including TV's Top 2 scripted series with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy": "Desperate Housewives" � No. 3, "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 4, "Lost" � No. 8, "Dancing with the Stars" � No. 10, "Dancing w/Stars Results" � No. 12 and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" � No. 15. In fact it was the 6th week in a row that ABC delivered TV's No. 1 scripted series in the key young adult sales demo. The Net aired 4 of the Top 7 most-watched television shows for the 3rd time in as many weeks: "Dancing with the Stars" � No. 3, "Dancing w/Stars Results" � No. 5, "Desperate Housewives" � No. 6 and "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 7. ABC News delivered the No. 1 newsmagazine during the week in Adults 18-49, with "20/20" on Friday. 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 jumped from 16% at the same point in 2006-07, up to more than 24% currently. 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.

Monday

For the 5th time in as many weeks and the 8th time in the last 9 weeks overall, ABC was Monday's most-watched TV network, beating second-place Fox during prime by 1.6 million viewers (14.0 million vs. 12.4 million) and drawing the Net's largest audience on the night in 6 weeks � since 3/31/08. Additionally, ABC stood as the No. 1 network among Women 18-49 (5.6/13) and Women 25-54 (7.0/15) for the 9th consecutive Monday

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-9:32 p.m.)

Continuing to top its time period in Total Viewers (18.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/11), ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" stood as Monday's most-watched television program for the 9th time in as many weeks. "DWTS" drew its largest audience in 5 weeks (since 04/07/08), outperforming the second-ranked show during prime by 3.5 million viewers (Fox's "House = 15.0 million from 9:00-10:00 p.m.).

"Samantha Who?" (9:32-10:02 p.m.)

The season finale of ABC's "Samantha Who?" posted increases over the previous week in both Total Viewers (10.2 million vs. 9.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.2/7 vs. 2.9/7), delivering the show's best performance in both Nielsen measures in 5 weeks � since 4/7/08.

� "Samantha Who?" finished second in its half-hour across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (3.7/9), Women 18-49 (4.9/11) and Women 25-54 (5.9/12).

"The Bachelor: London Calling" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

Registering a season-high performance in viewers and young adults, ABC's "The Bachelor" season finale beat NBC's "Medium" season ender during the 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (9.9 million vs. 8.7 million) and among Adults 18-49 (3.2/8 vs. 3.0/8).

� Spiking week to week by 2.3 million viewers and by 39% in young adults (6.6 million & 2.3/6 in Adults 18-49 on 5/5/08), "The Bachelor" attracted the Net's largest audience in the hour with regular programming in nearly 6 months � since 11/26/07.

� "The Bachelor" won the final hour of prime in Women 18--34 (4.3/11) and Women 18-49 (5.2/12).

Tuesday

ABC earned second place to Fox on Tuesday evening among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7).

"Dancing with the Stars Results" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

For the 7th consecutive week, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars Results" surged from its lead-in and built audience throughout its telecast to emerge as the most-watched show in its 9:00 p.m. time slot. Continuing to overcome Fox's sizeable lead-in advantage leading into to the hour from "American Idol," ABC's "DWTS Results" attracted 5.7 million more viewers than Fox's second-place "Hell's Kitchen" (17.0 million vs. 11.3 million). The dancing results program took a strong second in its slot with Adults 18-49, beating its original CBS competition by 105% (4.1/10 vs. 2.0/5 � "Shark"). It also delivered second place in the slot in the other two key adult demos of Adults 18-34 (2.7/8) and Adults 25-54 (5.2/12). Tony Award-winning Broadway star Marissa Jaret Winokur was the ninth celebrity dancer eliminated from the ABC dance competition this season. "DWTS Results" stood as Tuesday's No. 2 show in viewers to "Idol" for the 8th week in a row.

Wednesday

ABC delivered its highest Adults 18-49 performance (2.4/5) on the night in 3 months - since 02/13/08.

"Wife Swap" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Wife Swap" led the first our of prime in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7) for the second week in a row, matching the show's strongest performance in the time period in 4 months (since 1/9/08) and equaling the unscripted program's third-best performance of the season.

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

"Supernanny" posted week-to-week increases of 13% in Total Viewers (5.9 million vs. 5.2 million) and 26% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 1.9/5), logging the program's highest Adults 18-49 rating in 2 months - since 3/19/08.

"Boston Legal" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Boston Legal" was up over its most recent telecast (4/30/08) in both Total Viewers (7.7 million vs. 7.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 1.9/5). The program attracted ABC's strongest performance with regular programming in the hour in 6 months in viewers and in 5 months in young adults - since 11/14/07 and 12/05/07, respectively.

Thursday

Against season finale competition on each of the other nets, ABC won its 4th consecutive Thursday of the 2008 May Sweep in Adults 18-49, ranking No. 1 on all 8 Thursdays during the sweep month over the past 2 years. The Net led the night 31% ahead of its nearest competition (4.6/12 vs. 3.5/10 � NBC), its biggest margin of victory on the night during the sweep in the key young adult sales demo. The Net also led the night in Adults 18-34 (4.2/12), Adults 25-54 (5.2/13) and in each of the key women demos: W18-34 (5.9/16), W18-49 (6.2/16) and W25-54 (7.0/16).

Editors Please Note: ABC's Thursday season finales will occur over the next two weeks, with "Ugly Betty" (8:00-9:00 p.m.) and "Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-11:00 p.m.) on 5/22/08 and "Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.) on 5/29/08.

"Ugly Betty" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Growing its overall audience for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "Ugly Betty" was the most-watched TV show during the 8 o'clock hour (8.5 million), outdrawing season finale programming on both NBC ("My Name is Earl") and Fox ("Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"). On the penultimate episode of its sophomore season, "Betty" also ranked No. 1 in its slot across the key women demographics: W18-34 (4.1/13), W18-49 (4.1/12) and W25-54 (4.9/13).

� Opposite season finale competition in its time period, "Betty" increased its overall audience for the 2nd straight week (8.5 million vs. 8.0 million) and jumped by 13% week to week in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.4/7). It was the show's highest Adult 18-49 rating since January � since 1/24/08.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

For the 4th consecutive week since its return to original episodes, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" won its 9 o'clock time and ranked as Thursday's No. 1 TV program across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (5.7/16) Adults 18-49 (6.1/15) and Adults 25-54 (6.9/16). Head to head in the time period, "Grey's" beat the season finale of CBS' "C.S.I." by 24% in Adults 18-49 (6.1/15 vs. 4.9/12). Standing as Thursday's No. 1 TV show on every single original airing since premiering on the evening in 2006, "Grey's Anatomy" tallied its 39th straight original telecast as the night's top show in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo.

"Lost" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

No. 1 in its new time period for 4 weeks in a row, ABC's "Lost" overshadowed its 10 o'clock competition among Adults 18-49 (4.9/13), defeating second-place CBS' season finale of "Without a Trace" by 36% (3.6/10) and third-place NBC's "ER" finale by 48% (3.3/9). In fact "Lost" ranked No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49 for its 12th consecutive original airing this season. "Lost" was No. 1 in Thursday's 10:00 p.m. hour for the 4th straight week across all key adults, men and women.

� "Lost" was up from the prior week among Total Viewers (11.0 million vs. 10.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.9/13 vs. 4.7/13), increasing its overall audience for the 2nd week in a row.

� Continuing to demonstrate strong retention of its "Grey's" lead-in with key adults, "Lost" built on its lead-in for the 4th time in as many weeks across all key men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). "Lost" was Thursday's No. 1 TV show with Men 18-49 (4.2/12-tie) for the 4th straight week.

Friday

ABC earned second place on the season and sweep's final Friday in Total Viewers (6.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.8/6).

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

The 2-hour season finale of ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" attracted 6.8 million viewers and a 1.7 rating, 6 share in Adults 18-49, taking second in the time period in viewers and registering the Net's best numbers in the time period in nearly 5 months in both Nielsen measures - since 12/7/07 and 11/30/07, respectively.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News' "20/20" also placed second in its hour, defeating its newsmagazine competition, NBC's "Dateline," by 1.8 million viewers (6.1 million vs. 4.3 million) and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.4/4).

Sunday

ABC dominated the final Sunday of the May Sweep and TV Season, beating second-place CBS by 1.6 million viewers (13.1 million vs. 11.5 million) and by 81% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/13 vs. 2.6/7). In fact ABC posted its 13th consecutive week as Sunday's No. 1 TV network in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic. Furthermore, by winning each Sunday of the 2008 May Sweep, ABC marked its 4th consecutive May to rank No. 1 on each Sunday of the sweep � 16 consecutive May Sundays from May '05-May '08.

� Excluding Academy Awards night, the Network turned in its best Sunday numbers in over 5 months in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 � since 12/2/07.

� For the 6th consecutive Sunday (each week since its return), ABC's "Desperate Housewives" qualified as the evening's No. 1 TV program in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, standing as Sunday's highest-rated series on all 16 of its original airings this season. ABC won each half-hour of the evening and delivered the Top 2 shows of the night in Adults 18-49 with "Housewives" and "Home Edition."

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition � 7P" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

Part 1 of ABC's 2-part season finale of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" defeated its nearest competitor during the 7 o'clock hour by 63% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/9 vs. 1.6/6 � CBS' "60 Minutes") and delivered the Net's highest rating in the slot in 11 weeks � since 3/2/08.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opposite the opening hour of CBS' "Academy of Country Music Awards," ABC's "Home Edition" dominated its hour among Adults 18-49, beating its closest competition in the hour by 39% (3.9/11 vs. 2.8/8 � Fox's season finales of "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill").

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

Sunday's No. 1 TV show for the 6th week in a row, ABC's fourth season finale of "Desperate Housewives" beat out second-place CBS' "Academy of Country Music Awards" in its 2-hour time period by 4.9 million viewers (16.8 million vs. 11.9 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (6.2/16 vs. 3.1/8).

� Growing week to week by 1.4 million viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (15.4 million and 5.6/14 on 5/11/08), excluding Oscar Sundays, the fourth season closer of "Desperate Housewives" attracted ABC's biggest audience in the time period in almost 1-1/2 years � since 11/26/06.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 5/12/08, unless stated otherwise.





  [may 2008]  
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· 20/20 (ABC)
· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER? (NICKELODEON)
· BACHELOR, THE (ABC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· DATELINE NBC (NBC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· ER (NBC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HELL'S KITCHEN (FOX)
· HOUSE (FOX)
· KING OF THE HILL (FOX)
· LOST (ABC)
· MEDIUM (CBS)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· SAMANTHA WHO? (ABC)
· SHARK (CBS)
· SIMPSONS, THE (FOX)
· SUPERNANNY (LIFETIME)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)





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