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[01/08/09 - 12:12 PM]
ABC Marks Its Strongest Wednesday in 2 Months with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Wednesday, January 7.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Wednesday, January 7, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Marks its Strongest Wednesday in 2 Months with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"Barbara Walters Special" at 10pm Stands as Wednesday's Most-Watched TV Show

From 8-9pm, ABC's Back-to-Back Repeat "Scrubs" Defeat NBC's Original Episode of "Knight Rider" in Young Adults

ABC News' "Special Edition 20/20 � Vanished" Takes a Solid Second at 9pm to the "People's Choice Awards" and Earn ABC's Best Results in the Slot Since Mid-November

Excluding the "CMA Awards," "Barbara Walters Special -- Patrick Swayze: The Truth" Generates ABC's Biggest Audience in the Wednesday 10pm Hour Since May 2007

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

ABC's Wednesday lineup, featuring back-to-back repeat episodes of "Scrubs," a "Special Edition 20/20" and the "Barbara Walters Special," earned second place on Wednesday night with Total Viewers (8.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/6). In fact ABC qualified as the most-watched network from 9:00-11:00 p.m., outdrawing CBS' "People's Choice Awards" by 1.0 million viewers (10.3 million vs. 9.3 million). The Net ranked No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour in Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), as the "Barbara Walters Special -- Patrick Swayze: The Truth" stood as Wednesday's most-watched television show overall.

� ABC generated its strongest Wednesday in 2 months in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 � since 11/12/08.

"Scrubs" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's back-to-back repeats of "Scrubs" topped NBC's original "Knight Rider" in Adults 18-34 (1.4/4 vs. 1.3/4). And at 8:30 p.m., "Scrubs" beat "Knight Rider" among Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.6/4). In addition with "Scrubs" at 8:30 p.m., ABC beat each of its network rivals among hard-to-reach Men 18-34: ABC (1.5/5) beat NBC (1.4/5), Fox (1.3/4) and CBS (1.0/3).

"Special Edition 20/20 - Vanished: Missing in Milwaukee" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC News' "Special Edition 20/20 - Vanished: Missing in Milwaukee," featuring Elizabeth Vargas' report on the mystery of a loved one's disappearance combined with the realities of domestic violence, took second place from 9:00-10:00 p.m. to the opening hour of CBS' "People's Choice Awards" in Total Viewers (8.0 million), Adults 18-49 (2.3/6) and Adults 25-54 (2.9/7).

� ABC News' "Special Edition 20/20" produced the Net's best numbers in the hour since mid-November in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 � since 11/12/08.

"Barbara Walters Special - Patrick Swayze: The Truth" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Wednesday's most-watched TV show, "Barbara Walters Special -- Patrick Swayze: The Truth" ranked No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (12.6 million), Adults 18-49 (3.0/8-tie) and Adults 25-54 (4.5/11). In addition to standing as the evening's most-watched show overall, it was also Wednesday's No. 1 TV telecast with Adults 25-54 (4.5/11), Women 18-49 (4.2/10) and Women 25-54 (5.9/13).

� Excluding the "CMA Awards," the "Barbara Walters Special" generated ABC's strongest performance in the time period since May 2007 in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 � since 5/23/07.

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 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), 1/7/09.





  [january 2009]  
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· 20/20 (ABC)
· KNIGHT RIDER (NBC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)





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