or


[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]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 20/20 (ABC)
· KNIGHT RIDER (NBC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[12/08/25 - 11:30 AM]
College Football on The CW Network Sees Double Digit Year-Over-Year Viewership Gains for 2025 Season
ACC football experienced the largest year-over-year growth, up 26% in total audience compared to 2024.

[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" Delivers Second-Best Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN Scores Best Rivalry Week Since 2012
The Lone Star Showdown drew over 13 million viewers, peaking with 14.3 million viewers.

[12/04/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Big Noon Kickoff" Scores 4.36 Million Viewers on FOX
The 2025 season was "Big Noon Kickoff's" most-watched season in history.

[12/04/25 - 02:41 PM]
18.4M Viewers Tuned in for Ohio State-Michigan on FOX
Ohio State's win over Michigan scored 18,424,000 viewers on FOX.

[12/04/25 - 02:28 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix on ESPN2
The November 30 telecast earned an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, the largest audience ever to watch the event on U.S. television.

[12/03/25 - 11:59 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Season Premiere Catapults to Over 19 Million Total Viewers
Over 35 days, ABC's Thursday night drama premieres amassed impressive audiences based on competitive cross-platform broadcast series rankings, with all three dramas landing in the Top 10 among Adults 18-49.

[12/03/25 - 08:57 AM]
Record NFL Viewership Caps Thanksgiving Night on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Bengals-Ravens is the most-watched Thanksgiving night NFL game ever with an average of 28.4 million viewers.

[12/03/25 - 08:55 AM]
"NFL on CBS" Shatters Record for Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History with More Than 57 Million Viewers
Viewership peaked with 61.357 million viewers for the game's thrilling conclusion (7:45-8:00 PM ET).

[12/03/25 - 08:49 AM]
FOX Sports Feasts on Thanksgiving Day with 47.7 Million Viewers for Packers-Lions
Viewership peaked with 57,957,000 viewers from 4:00-4:15 PM ET.

[12/03/25 - 08:47 AM]
Most-Watched NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve in Six Years
The inaugural tripleheader averaged 2,099,000 viewers, up 54 percent from last year's Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.