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[09/29/08 - 11:13 AM]
ABC Projected to Win the Opening Week of the Season in Viewers and Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Sunday, September 28.
[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Sunday, September 28, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Projected to Win the Opening Week of the Season in Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC's Fifth-Season Premiere of "Desperate Housewives" Stands as Sunday's No. 1 TV Show in Viewers and Young Adults, as the Net Airs the Top 2 Series in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Home Edition" is the Most-Watched Entertainment Show from 8-9pm, Beating CBS' "Amazing Race" Opener by 1.6 Million Viewers and by 19% in Adults 18-49

With its Top Numbers Since January and Pacing Well Ahead of its May Sweep Results, "Desperate Housewives" Wins Sunday's 9 O'clock Hour Over NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and Overshadows CBS' "Cold Case" Season Opener in the Hour

ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" Towers Over CBS' "The Unit" in the 10pm Hour, In Viewers and Young Adults, Marking its Biggest Numbers Since Early December

Sunday Primetime (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Competing against NBC's "NFL Sunday Night Football" on the night (Philadelphia-Chicago) and Fox with its highly-rated NFL overrun into the first hour of primetime, ABC held second place to NBC on the opening Sunday of the season in Total Viewers (12.5 million) and ranked No. 1 across all key women demos: W18-34 (5.0/14), W18-49 (6.0/15) and W25-54 (6.7/16). With the weekend numbers in the mix, ABC is projected to win the opening week of the 2008-09 TV season in Total Viewers (12.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.8 rating).

� ABC's fifth-season premiere of "Desperate Housewives" stood as the definitive No. 1 TV program on the first Sunday of the season in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact ABC aired the Top 2 entertainment programs on Sunday evening in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, with "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters," respectively.

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

Building sharply on its lead-in during its regular time period premiere, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ranked as the most-watched TV series during the 8 o'clock hour (11.9 million). "Home Edition" topped its unscripted competition in the hour, CBS' "The Amazing Race XIII" season premiere, by 1.6 million viewers (11.9 million vs. 10.3 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/9 vs. 3.1/8).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

The fifth-season premiere of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" jumped to the top of 9 o'clock hour with an average audience of 18.4 million viewers and a 7.0 rating, 16 share in Adults 18-49, beating NBC's "Sunday Night Football" (16.4 million and 6.4/14) and overshadowing CBS' "Cold Case" opener (11.2 million and 2.7/6) in the hour.

� "Desperate Housewives" drew its largest audience and top Adult 18-49 rating since January (since 1/6/08) and ran ahead of where it left off last season. "Desperate Housewives" was up over its 2008 May Sweep performance by nearly 2 million viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (May Sweep Live + Same Day = 16.5 million viewers and 6.0/15 in Adults 18-49). Despite the increase in DVR penetration, "Housewives" topped its year-ago season opener with Women 18-34 (8.3/20 vs. 8.1/19).

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's third-season premiere of "Brothers & Sisters" overshadowed its CBS drama competition in the 10 o'clock hour, leading the third-season premiere of "The Unit" by 2.7 million viewers (12.4 million vs. 9.7 million) and by 81% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 vs. 2.6/6).

� "Brothers & Sisters" saw its best performance since early December in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 � since 12/2/07. "Brothers & Sisters" grew from the series' performance during the '08 May Sweep by 1.6 million viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (May Sweep Live + Same Day = 10.8 million viewers and 3.8/10 in Adults 18-49). Despite the increase in DVR penetration year to year, "Brothers & Sisters" was up from last year's season premiere in Adults 18-34 (4.1/11 vs. 3.8/11).

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 more than 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), 9/28/08.





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· AMAZING RACE, THE (CBS)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)




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