or


[01/22/09 - 12:42 PM]
ABC Generates Its Highest-Rated Wednesday Evening, with Series Programming in Over 1-1/2 Years in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Wednesday, January 21.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Wednesday, January 21, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Generates its Highest-Rated Wednesday Evening, With Series Programming in Over 1-1/2 Years in Adults 18-49

The No. 1 Scripted TV Show of the Night in Adults 18-49, "Lost" Opens Ahead Of Fox's "Idol"-Fueled Debut of "Lie to Me" and Beats Out CBS' Original Dramas

"Lost" Attracts ABC's Biggest Audience with Series Programming in the Time Slot Since September 2007 and its Highest Adult 18-49 Number Since May 2007

"Lost" Tops Last Season's Finale in Adults 18-49, with its Best Result Since April

"Lost" Outpaces its May 2008 Averages in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

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

With a "Lost" recap special at 8:00 p.m. and the 5th season opener of "Lost" at 9:00 p.m., ABC (4.5/11) earned a strong second place to an "American Idol"-boosted Fox among Adults 18-49, outdelivering third-place CBS by 55% (2.9/7) and fourth-place NBC by 137% (1.9/5).

� Excluding its telecasts of the "CMA Awards," ABC posted its highest-rated Wednesday in more than 1-1/2 years in Adults 18-49 - since 5/23/07.

"Lost: Destiny Calls" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opposite Fox's "American Idol," ABC's "Lost" recap special took second place in the 8 o'clock hour (8.5 million and 3.3/8), pulling in the Net's best numbers in the time period in 2 months - since 11/12/08.

"Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opening its 5th season against stiff competition, including Fox's series debut of "Lie to Me" coming out of "American Idol" and CBS' original dramas ("Criminal Minds"/"CSI: NY"), "Lost" drew an average audience of 11.4 million viewers and delivered a 5.0 rating, 12 share in Adults 18-49 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. Surging from its lead-in, "Lost" finished out as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49, besting Fox's "Idol"-driven debut of "Lie to Me" (Fox's 4.9 time-zone adjusted rating from 9:03-10:06 p.m.). In its second hour from 10:00-11:00pm, "Lost" moved up into a dominant No. 1 position, defeating second-place CBS' original "C.S.I.: NY" in the hour by 63% in the key young adult sales demo (4.9/13 vs. 3.0/8). In addition to Adults 18-49, "Lost" also stood Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV program across each of the key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

� "Lost" generated ABC's biggest audience with scripted programming in the time period since September '07 and its highest Adult 18-49 rating since May '07 - since 9/26/07 and 5/23/07, respectively.

� Besting its 4th season finale last May, "Lost" posted its highest Adult 18-49 rating since April (4/24/08).

� "Lost" improved upon where it finished out last season in original episodes during the 2008 May Sweep (4/24-5/21/08). Versus its Live + Same Day averages for originals in May '08 (11.1 million & 4.9/13), "Lost" was up in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. It should definitely be noted in any comparisons to its 4th season opener last January (Thursday, 1/31/08) that "Lost" premiered against considerably less competition a year ago, facing repeat programming on CBS and an "Idol"-less Fox on the evening with "Don't Forget the Lyrics."

Please Note: One of the most recorded and played back shows on TV, on average last season in originals Lost saw its overall audience grow by 1.9 million viewers and jump 19% in Adults 18-49 (+1.0 rating point) from its first-reported Live + Same Day and finalized Live + 7 Day numbers.

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), 1/21/09.





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS! (FOX)
· LIE TO ME (FOX)
· LOST (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.

[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.