Quick Take for Wednesday, October 15, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Ranks No. 1 on Wednesday Among Women 18-34 and Women 18-49, Taking the Top Spot Among Women 18-34 for the Third Week in a Row

"Pushing Daisies" Grows Week to Week in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, Beating NBC's "Knight Rider" at 8pm in All Key Women Demos for the 3rd Straight Week

ABC News' "Vote 2008: Analysis-TUE" Takes Second in Total Viewers in its Time Slot, Beating CBS' Analysis in Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54

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

With "Pushing Daisies" and ABC News' post-Presidential Debate analysis, the Net drew 7.0 million viewers and a 2.1 rating, 6 share in Adults 18-49. ABC ranked No. 1 on Wednesday among Women 18-34 (2.3/7) and Women 18-49 (2.7/7-tie), taking the top spot among Women 18-34 for the 3rd straight week.

"Pushing Daisies" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's "Pushing Daisies" took second in the hour among the key women demos, beating NBC's "Knight Rider" for the third consecutive week by double digits across the Women demos: W18-34 +64% (2.3/7 vs. 1.4/4), W18-49 +25% (2.5/7 vs. 2.0/5) and W25-54 +12% (2.9/7 vs. 2.6/6).

* "Daisies" saw week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 5.5 million) and Adults 25-54 (2.3/6 vs. 2.2/6).

"ABC News Vote '08: Presidential Debate" (9:00-10:31 p.m.)

Based on Nielsen's "sustained" ratings, ABC News' coverage of the Presidential Debate drew 10.6 million viewers.

"Vote 2008: Analysis-WED" (10:31-11:00 p.m.)

From 10:31-11:00 p.m. ET, taking second in the time slot in Total Viewers, ABC News' "Vote 2008: Analysis-TUE" beat CBS' "Campaign '08-Debate ANL" in Total Viewers (8.9 million vs. 7.2 million), Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 vs. 2.2/5) and Adults 25-54 (3.1/7 vs. 2.6/6).

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 28% currently, from 20% 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 (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 10/15/08.