Quick Take for Wednesday, March 4, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Places a Solid No. 2 to Fox in Adults 18-49, Surging Over the Year- Ago Wednesday by 38% with its 5th Straight Week of Year-to-Year Growth

For the 7th Straight Wednesday, "Lost" is TV's No. 1 Scripted Show in Adults 18-49

Growing Week to Week, "Lost" Wins the 9pm Hour in Viewers and Young Adults, Beating Fox's "Idol"-Driven "Lie to Me" by its Biggest Margins Yet

"Life On Mars" Posts its Top Adult 18-49 Number Since its Time Slot Premiere

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

Turning in its most competitive finish on the night with its regular line-up since the return of "Idol" in January, ABC placed a solid No. 2 to Fox on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49 (2.9/8), beating third-place CBS by 32% (2.2/6) and fourth-place NBC by 93% (1.5/4).

� Continuing to deliver increasing year-to-year returns on the night, ABC's Wednesday results were up from the same night last year (3/5/08) by 1.0 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 6.0 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/8 vs. 2.1/5). In fact it was ABC's 5th consecutive week to deliver year-to-year young adult growth on the night, finishing up or even with the year-ago Wednesday for 7 weeks in a row.

"Lost" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Catapulting from its lead-in by 5.8 million viewers and by 200% in young adults and gaining audience from start to finish, ABC's "Lost" won the 9 o'clock hour, defeating second-place Fox's "Idol"-driven "Lie to Me" by its biggest margins yet in both Total Viewers (+4% - 10.6 million vs. 10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+33% - 4.8/12 vs. 3.6/9).

� ABC's "Lost" registered its 7th week in a row as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49. The ABC drama was also the evening's highest-rated scripted show in the other two key Adult demos: Adults 18-34 (4.5/13) and Adults 25-54 (5.2/12).

� "Lost" surged week to week by 5% in Total Viewers and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (2/25/09 = 1.01 million and 4.4/11).

"Life on Mars" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Life on Mars" drew its biggest audience (5.7 million) in 4 weeks and posted its highest Adult 18-49 rating (2.1/6) since its premiere on the night 5 weeks ago � since 2/4 and 1/28/09, respectively.

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 30% currently, from 23% 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), 3/4/09.