or


[09/23/08 - 11:31 AM]
ABC Is the No. 1 Net on the Opening Night of the 08-09 TV Season
ABC spins the numbers for Monday, September 22.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Monday, September 22, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is the No. 1 Net on the Opening Night of the 08-09 TV Season, Growing Year to Year and Outdrawing Second-Place CBS by Over 4 Million Viewers

ABC Marks its Most-Watched Season Premiere Monday in 9 Years, Representing the Top Season Opening Monday for Any Net Since 2002

Broadcast TV Grows its Overall Audience by 1 Million Viewers Year to Year

Monday's No. 1 TV Show, ABC's Seventh-Season Premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" Dominates its 2-Hour Time Period Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"DWTS" Attracts ABC's Largest Audience in the Time Slot in 1-1/2 Years And Generates its Highest Number Among Adults 18-49 in Close to a Year

In its Season Opener, "Boston Legal" Marks its Best Numbers Since April

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

With the season premieres of "Dancing with the Stars" and "Boston Legal" on the night, ABC stood as the most-watched TV network on the opening Monday of the 2008-09 TV Season, outdrawing its nearest competition by over 4 million viewers (17.2 million vs. 13.1 million - CBS). ABC also ranked No. 1 on Monday night across each of the key women demographics: W18-34 (4.2/11), W18-49 (6.0/14) and W25-54 (7.5/16).

� Growing from opening Monday of last season by 2.0 million viewers (17.2 million vs. 15.2 million on 9/24/07), ABC posted its biggest season premiere audience on the night in 9 years and the most-watched for any network since 2002 � since 9/20/99 and 9/23/02 (CBS), respectively. In fact it was a good start to the season for broadcast television overall, as the 5 networks combined (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW) attracted 1.0 million more viewers this year than last (48.0 million vs. 47.0 million), despite a sharp increase in DVR penetration (from 19% a year ago up to more than 27% currently).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

The most-watched TV show on Monday night, ABC's seventh-season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" dominated in its 2-hour time period, beating second-place CBS by 9.8 million viewers (21.1 million vs. 11.3 million) and by 26% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13 vs. 4.2/10). "DWTS" was also Monday's No. 1 show in the key Adults 18-49 (tied w/CBS' "Two and a Half Men" from 9:00-9:30 p.m.), besting high-profile competition including the season opener of CBS' "C.S.I.: Miami" (5.1/12) and NBC's 2-hour return of "Heroes" (4.9/12).

� "Dancing with the Stars" generated ABC's largest audience in the time period in 1-1/2 years and its highest Adult 18-49 rating since last November � since 3/19/07 and 11/19/07, respectively.

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

In its season premiere, ABC's "Boston Legal" turned in its best viewer (9.4 million) and young adult number (2.5/6) since April � since 4/22/08

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 27% currently, from 19% at the same point in 2007. 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 Day Ratings), 9/22/08.





  [september 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CSI: MIAMI (CBS)
· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· HEROES (NBC)
· TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[07/22/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49, Leading CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in the Demo for the 6th Consecutive Week
"Nightline" posted week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting a 4-week high in the key Adult news demo.

[07/22/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 14: "Untamed" Hunts and "KPop Demon Hunters" Slay in This Week's Top 10
True crime lovers also made their voices heard - documentary series "Amy Bradley Is Missing" appeared at No. 2 on the English TV list, with 12.2 million views.

[07/22/25 - 10:30 AM]
2025 NBA Las Vegas Summer League Viewership Up Double Digits
Said telecasts averaged an audience of 255,000 viewers, up 27% from last year.

[07/22/25 - 08:04 AM]
ESPN, ABC and Disney+ Score Historic Viewership for 2025 WNBA All-Star Events
The Skills Challenge & 3-Point Contest and the WNBA All-Star Game averaged 1.3 million viewers and 2.2 million viewers, respectively.

[07/21/25 - 10:09 AM]
ESPN's Outstanding Nielsen Viewership for First Six Months of 2025: At the Halfway Mark, ESPN has Achieved Multiple Successes Across the Board
ESPN on its own is up 4% year-over-year across the entire day (24 hours of programming) and up 9% when isolating the primetime hours (8-11 p.m. ET).

[07/17/25 - 01:31 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the First Half of 2025
This report, which captures ~99% of all viewing in the first half of 2025, shows that people watched a lot of Netflix - over 95B hours - spanning a wide range of genres and languages.

[07/17/25 - 09:57 AM]
"Dexter: Resurrection" Debuts to a Killer 3.1 Million Cross-Platform Viewers
Said premiere was up 44% versus "Dexter: Original Sin" and 79% versus "Dexter: New Blood."

[07/16/25 - 04:01 PM]
ESPN Airs Another of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games Ever: Indiana Fever vs Connecticut Sun Averaged 1.7 Million Viewers, Up 48% from Last Year's ESPN Average
Said telecast peaked with 2 million viewers.

[07/15/25 - 02:06 PM]
Viewership for 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Exclusively on ESPN Platforms Up Five Percent From Last Year
An average audience of 5,729,000 viewers watched the event, compared to 5,451,000 viewers in 2024.

[07/15/25 - 01:04 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week
"Nightline" posted Total Viewer gains both week to week and year to year.

[07/15/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 7: "KPop Demon Hunters" Spends Another Golden Week at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"The Sandman's" second season entered the Top 10 in 89 countries last week, while claiming the No. 1 spot in English TV with 5.9 million views.

[07/15/25 - 09:04 AM]
ABC Airs Another of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games Ever: Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever Averaged 2.1 Million Viewers, Up 69% from Last Year's ABC Average
Said audience peaked with 2.5 million viewers.

[07/14/25 - 06:08 PM]
"Celebrity Family Feud" Returns with Best Premiere in Three Years
Overall, the season 11 premiere notched the show's best performance for any telecast in Total Viewers (4.16 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.42 rating) since 8/28/22 and 8/13/23, respectively.

[07/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix and MVP's Taylor-Serrano 3 Goes the Distance with Nearly 6 Million Global Viewers
In the US, an estimated AMA of 4.2 million viewers tuned in to the main event (Live+1) according to VideoAmp and Netflix, making it the most-watched professional women's sports event of 2025.

[07/11/25 - 12:45 PM]
ABC Concludes September to May Season with Top Five Shows Among Adults 18-49 Including "High Potential," "Abbott Elementary," "The Rookie," "Shifting Gears" and "9-1-1"
Continuing to lead among broadcast series, ABC's "High Potential" stood as the No. 1 new drama among Total Viewers (16.41 million) and No. 1 new show among Adults 18-49 (3.85 rating).