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[12/05/08 - 10:46 AM]
ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, December 4.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Thursday, December 4, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49, Drawing its Largest Audience and Highest Young Adult Performance on the Night Since Premiere Thursday

"Ugly Betty" Beats NBC's Comedies in the 8pm Hour by 3.0 Million Viewers, Ranking No. 1 in Adults 18-34 and Winning in Women 18-34 for the 10th Straight Telecast

"Grey's Anatomy" Stands as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 for the 5th Consecutive Airing, Beating CBS' "C.S.I." by 20% in the Key Young Adult Demo

"Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" Wins its Hour in Viewers and Across All Key Adult Demos, Attracting its Biggest Audience Since 2004

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

ABC registered its strongest performance on the night in both Total Viewers (12.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11) since premiere Thursday 10 weeks ago � since 9/25/08. ABC won the night in the key young adult sales demo. ABC also led the night in Adults 18-34 (3.9/12) for the 4th time in the past 5 weeks with a best-since-premiere-Thursday performance.

"Ugly Betty" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Ugly Betty" took second place in the 8 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (8.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/7), topping NBC's comedies in the time period for the 8th straight head-to-head airing, by 3.0 million viewers ("My Name is Earl"/"Kath & Kim" = 5.5 million). "Betty" ranked No. 1 in the hour with Adults 18-34 (2.3/8) for the 2nd telecast in a row. The comedy dominated its slot in Women 18-34, beating CBS' "Survivor: Gabon" by 44% (3.6/11 vs. 2.5/8). In fact the ABC series marked its 10th consecutive telecast this season as the No. 1 TV show in the hour in Women 18-34.

� "Ugly Betty" was up over its most-recent telecast in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (8.3 million and a 2.5/7 on 11/20/08), delivering its best numbers in 4 weeks � since 11/06/08.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

For the 5th telecast in a row and the 6th time in the last 7 airings, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo. The ABC medical drama defeated CBS' drama competition in the 9 o'clock hour, "C.S.I.," by 20% in Adults 18-49 (5.5/14 vs. 4.6/11) and by a best-of-season margin of 107% in Adults 18-34 (5.6/15 vs. 2.7/7). "Grey's" qualified as the night's No. 1 show with Adults 18-34 for the 6th time in 7 telecasts.

"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the final hour of primetime, ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" won its time period in Total Viewers (13.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/12), outperforming the second place networks by 2.3 million viewers (10.9 million � CBS' "Eleventh Hour") and by 31% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 � NBC's "ER"). The annual special also led the hour among Adults 18-34 (3.9/12) and Adults 25-54 (4.8/12). President-elect Barack Obama was named the most fascinating person of 2008.

� ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" was up by almost 2.0 million viewers over the 2007 edition (11.3 million on 12/06/07). In fact, it was the special's largest audience in 4 years (since 2004) and second-largest in nearly 10 years (since 1999).

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 21% 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 Program Ratings), 12/4/08.





  [december 2008]  
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· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· ELEVENTH HOUR (CBS)
· ER (NBC)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· KATH & KIM (NBC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)





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