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[01/05/09 - 12:21 PM]
ABC Claims the Top 3 TV Shows on Sunday in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Sunday, January 4.

[via press release from ABC]

Fast Facts for Sunday, January 4, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Winning Each Hour from 8-11pm, ABC Claims the Top 3 TV Shows on Sunday In Adults 18-49, Dominating its Non-Sports Prime Competition on NBC and CBS

"Desperate Housewives" is the Night's No. 1 Show in Viewers and Young Adults, As ABC Claims Sunday's Top 3 Entertainment Programs Among Adults 18-49

Up from its Most-Recent Original Telecast, ABC's "Home Edition" Wins the 8 O'clock Hour Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

The Top TV Show on Sunday, "Desperate Housewives" Dominates at 9pm and Is the Night's Most-Watched Entertainment Series for its 11th Straight Original Airing

Leading the 10 O'clock Hour, ABC's "Brother's & Sisters" Defeats NBC's "Superstars of Dance" and CBS' "The Unit" by Wide Margins in the Key Young Adult Sales Demo

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

Opposite an NFL Wild Card Playoff overrun-driven Fox, ABC stood as the dominant non-sports network on Sunday night in Adults 18-49, winning each hour from 8:00-11:00 p.m. In fact in the key young adult sales demo, ABC (3.5/9) defeated NBC with its 2-hour "Saturday Night Live Special" into the 2-hour debut telecast of "Superstars of Dance" by 30% (2.7/7) and CBS with its original lineup by 52% (2.3/6). The Net won the evening across each of the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

� ABC delivered Sunday's Top 3 non-sports telecasts with Adults 18-49, including "Desperate Housewives," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Brothers & Sisters." The night's No. 1 TV series overall, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" finished as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program for its 11th straight original telecast this season. "Housewives" posted its 10th time in 11 original broadcasts this season as Sunday's top-rated entertainment series in Adults 18-49.

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

Surging from its lead-in, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" won the 8 o'clock hour, beating its nearest competitors by 6% in Total Viewers (11.0 million vs. 10.4 million � CBS' "Million Dollar Password") and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/9 vs. 2.9/7 � NBC's "SNL Sports Extra").

� "Home Edition" was up from its most recent original airing by 6% in Total Viewers and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (10.4 million & 3.3/8 on 12/7/08). Additionally, the ABC unscripted series matched its highest Adult 18-49 rating in 2 months (11/2/08) and hit a season high with Adults 18-34 (2.9/8-tie)

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

Sunday's No. 1 program, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" dominated its 9 o'clock time period in Total Viewers (14.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.2/12). In the hour, "Housewives" topped runners-up CBS' "Cold Case" by 1.6 million viewers (12.7 million) and NBC's "Superstars of Dance" by 58% (3.3/8).

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

ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" ranked No. 1 during Sunday's 10 o'clock hour across all key Adult demos (A18-34/A18-49/A25-54). In Adults 18-49, "Brothers & Sisters" (3.2/8) topped the final hour of NBC's series debut of "Superstars of Dance" by 10% (2.9/7) and CBS' "The Unit" by 28% (2.5/6). The ABC drama marked its 11th consecutive telecast this season to take first place in the hour with Women 18-49 and Women 25-54.

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 more than 29% currently, from 22% at the same point in 2008. 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), 1/4/09.





  [january 2009]  
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· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD (CBS)
· SUPERSTARS OF DANCE (NBC)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)





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