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[10/27/08 - 11:14 AM]
ABC Is Sunday's Top Non-Sports Net in Viewers & Young Adults
ABC spins the numbers for Sunday, October 26.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Sunday, October 26, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Growing Week to Week, Opposite Fox with an NFL Overrun Leading into the World Series, ABC is Sunday's Top Non-Sports Net in Viewers & Young Adults

For the 5th Straight Week, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" is Sunday's No. 1 Show In Adults 18-49 and the Most-Watched Show Overall for the 4th Time in 5 Telecasts

Opposite Fox's Big NFL Overrun at 7pm, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" Scores Best-Since-Premiere Numbers in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

The No. 1 Entertainment Program at 8pm in Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Attracts its Biggest Audience in 7 Months

Increasing its Overall Audience Week to Week, "Desperate Housewives" Defeats Fox's World Series Coverage in the 9 O'clock Hour in Viewers and Young Adults

Winning the 10pm Hour Across All Key Women for the 5th Week in a Row, "Brothers & Sisters" Dominates its Drama Competition in the Slot in Viewers and Young Adults

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

Competing against Fox, with its big NFL primetime overrun (Giants-Steelers) leading into Game 4 of the 2008 World Series, ABC was the top non-sports network on Sunday in Total Viewers (11.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.9/10). For the 5th week in a row, ABC qualified as the No. 1 television network overall on Sunday night all key Women demos: W18-34 (4.1/11), W18-49 (5.2/13) and W25-54 (6.0/14).

� Opposite the World Series Game 4, ABC turned in its strongest Sunday in 3 weeks among viewers and young adults � since 10/3/08.

� For the 5th week running, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" qualified as Sunday Night's No. 1 TV program among Adults 18-49. In addition, the program was the most-watched show overall on the night for the 4th time in 5 weeks.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" was the top non-sports choice in the 7 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), outdelivering CBS' "60 Minutes" by 9% (2.2/6).

� Airing against Fox's NFL overrun, the venerable ABC video clip show improved its performance over the prior week by 9% in viewers (8.5 million vs. 7.8 million) and by 20% among young adults (2.4/7 vs. 2.0/6), posting best-since-season-premiere numbers on both counts. In addition, "AVF" tallied season-high ratings across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

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

Surging from its lead-in against the World Series, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" represented the top entertainment program in the 8 o'clock hour with Total Viewers (12.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.9/10). The show ranked No. 1 its time slot in each of the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), while also registering as the night's highest-rated broadcast program with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

� Hitting season highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tie), "Home Edition" attracted its largest audience in 7 months � since 3/30/08.

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

Sunday evening's No. 1 TV program, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" dominated its 9 o'clock time period in Total Viewers (15.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.7/13). In the hour, "Housewives" topped Fox's World Series coverage by solid margins (14.2 million and 4.8/11) and towered over its CBS drama competition, "Cold Case" (12.0 million and 2.7/6).

� Despite facing World Series competition, "Housewives" increased its overall audience week to week, while retaining 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience (15.5 million and 5.7/13 on 10/19/08). The ABC series was also up week to week with Adults 25-54 (6.7/14 vs. 6.5/14).

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

For the 5th consecutive week, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" won Sunday's 10 o'clock hour across each of the key Women demographics: W18-34 (4.1/11), W18-49 (5.2/12) and W25-54 (5.9/13). The top non-sports show in the slot, "Brothers & Sisters" defeated its drama competition in the hour, CBS' "The Unit," by wide margins: +1.0 million viewers (10.1 million vs. 9.1 million) and +40% in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 2.5/6).

� "Brothers & Sisters was up from the prior week in both Total Viewers (10.1 million vs. 9.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 3.4/8).

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 (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 10/26/08.





  [october 2008]  
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· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)





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