Quick Take for Monday, December 8, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC is Up Week to Week by 1.7 Million Viewers and by 8% in Adults 18-49

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" Wins at 8pm in Viewers, Key Women and Kids 2-11, Ranking as the No. 1 TV Program of the Evening in the Key Kids Demo

The 2-Hour Series Finale of "Boston Legal" Hits a Season High, Growing its Audience from Start to Finish and Drawing its Largest Audience in 8 Months

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

ABC's Monday lineup was up over the previous week by 1.7 million viewers (10.3 million vs. 8.6 million) and 8% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.6/7).

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" stood as the most-watched program (11.0 million) in the 8 o'clock hour, while taking second among Adults 18-49 (3.7/10). In addition, the animated classic led its time period among Women 18-49 (4.7/12), Women 25-54 (5.2/12) and Kids 2-11 (5.4/16). In fact "A Charlie Brown Christmas" stood as Monday night's No. 1 TV program among Kids 2-11.

"Boston Legal" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

The 2-hour series finale of "Boston Legal" hit a season-high in Total Viewers (9.9 million), while posting a best-since-premiere performance among Adults 18-49 (2.3/6). In fact, the legal drama saw its largest audience in nearly 8 months - since 4/22/08. The finale episode of the series saw its audience grow from its first hour to its second hour by 6% in Total Viewers (9.6 million to 10.2 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/5 to 2.5/6).

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 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 (National, Live + Same Program Ratings), 12/8/08.