Quick Take for Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

With "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," ABC Dominates Wednesday Evening, Beating Second-Place CBS by 4.8 Million Viewers and by 72% in Adults 18-49

ABC Ranks No. 1 on the Night Across All Key Adults, Men, Women, Teens and Kids

ABC Posts its Biggest Wednesday in Viewers and Adults 18-49 in 1 Year, Along with Its Top Men 18-49 Number in 1-1/2 Years and its Best Men 25-54 Number in 2 Years

"CMAs" Retains Nearly All of its Overall Audience Year to Year, While Growing its Numbers by +3% in Men 18-49, by +7% in Men 25-54 and by +20% in Kids 2-11

ABC's 2008 "CMA Awards" Towers Over CBS' "ACM Awards" In May '08 by 4.2 Million Viewers and by 72% in Adults 18-49

"The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With the Network's broadcast of "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," ABC towered over Wednesday's prime, topping its nearest competition on the evening by 4.8 million viewers (15.9 million vs. 11.1 million - CBS) and by 72% in Adults 18-49 (5.0/13 vs. 2.9/8 - CBS and Fox tied). The Net's Wednesday dominance with the "CMA Awards" was even bigger this year than last, up from 4.5 million viewers and 69% in Adults 18-49 when it defeated runner-up CBS a year ago (11/7/07). ABC ranked won all 6 half-hours of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact it was a clean sweep on the night, as the Network also took top honors on the evening with across all key Adults, Men and Women demographics (18-34/18-49/25-54), as well as standing as the top broadcaster with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

� ABC delivered its largest Wednesday audience and top Adult 18-49 rating on the night in 1 year � since 11/7/07. The "CMA Awards" generated ABC's highest Men 18-49 rating on the evening in 1-1/2 years and its top Men 25-54 number in more than 2 years � since 5/23/07 and 10/4/06, respectively.

� Year to year, the "CMA Awards" retained nearly all of its overall Total Viewers (15.9 million vs. 16.0 million), while growing its audience with Men 18-49 by +3% (3.7/10 vs. 3.6/10), by +7% in Men 25-54 (4.8/12 vs. 4.5/12) and by +20% in Kids 2-11 (1.8/8 vs. 1.5/7).

� ABC's telecast of the "CMA Awards" towered over CBS' 2008 May Sweep telecast of the "ACM Awards" by 4.2 million viewers and by 72% in Adults 18-49 (CBS' "ACM Awards" on 5/18/08 = 11.7 million viewers and 2.9/8 in AD18-49).

� An estimated 34.6 million viewers watched at least some portion of the "The 42 Annual CMA Awards" during its 3-hour telecast � unique Viewers 2+ that watched 6 minutes or more of the program.

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 more than doubled from just over 9% at the same point in 2006 up to nearly 21% currently. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. Therefore, 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 Program Ratings), 11/12/07.