or


[03/19/09 - 10:48 AM]
ABC Is Up Over the Year-Ago Wednesday on 6 of the Past 7 Weeks in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Wednesday, March 18.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Wednesday, March 18, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Growing Year to Year in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC is Up Over The Year-Ago Wednesday on 6 of the Past 7 Weeks in Adults 18-49

"Lost" is Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show Across the Key Adult Demos, its 8th Straight Original Telecast as the Night's Top Scripted Series in Adults 18-49

"Scrubs" Generates its Strongest Numbers in More than 2 Months, Since the Evening of its Premiere on ABC at the Beginning of January

With Strong Retention of its Lead-in, the Debut of "Better Off Ted" Produces ABC's Top Numbers in the Slot with Regular Programming in Nearly 5 Months

"Lost" Dominates its Drama Competition in the 9pm Hour in Adults 18-49, Beating Out CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 31% and NBC's "Life" by 180%

"Life On Mars" Surges Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, Ranking No. 2 in the 10 O'clock Hour Among Key Men Demographics

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

ABC finished in a near-tie for No. 2 on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49 (2.8/8), pacing within one-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share with CBS (2.9/8). The Network took a strong second on the evening in Adults 18-34 (2.5/8), beating third-place CBS by 39% (1.8/6) and fourth-place NBC by 108% (1.2/4).

� Continuing to post year-to-year gains on the night, ABC's Wednesday results were up from the same night last year (3/19/08) by 8% in Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 6.2 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/8 vs. 2.1/6). The Network has finished up from the year-ago Wednesday on 6 of the past 7 weeks in the key young adult sales demo.

"Scrubs" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Scrubs" earned second place in the half-hour among Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), while holding the No. 1 position with Men 18-34 (2.1/8).

� "Scrubs" drew its biggest audience (5.8 million) and equaled its highest Adult 18-49 rating (2.2/7) in more than 2 months � since 1/6/09, the series' debut night on ABC.

"Better Off Ted" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Retaining its "Scrubs" lead-in among young adults, ABC's series debut of "Better Off Ted" ranked No. 2 in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour in Adults 18-34 (2.0/7-tie), outdelivering its established CBS' comedy competition by 54% ("Gary Unmarried" = 1.3/4). Also in the half-hour, the new ABC show topped the second week of NBC's "Chopping Block" by 2.3 million viewers (5.6 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 69% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.3/4).

� In addition to holding its young adult lead-in, "Better Off Ted" built on its "Scrubs" lead-in across the key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

� In Total Viewers (5.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/6), "Better Off Ted" generated ABC's best numbers with regular programming in the time period in nearly 5 months � since 10/29/08.

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

Surging from its lead-in opposite Fox's "American Idol" and gaining audience throughout its broadcast, "Lost" dominated its drama competition in the 9 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49. In its time period, ABC's "Lost" (4.2/10) defeated CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 31% (3.2/8) and NBC's "Life" by 180% (1.5/4).

� ABC's "Lost" tallied its 8th original telecast 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 (4.0/11) and Adults 25-54 (4.5/10).

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

During the 10 o'clock hour against original dramas on CBS ("C.S.I.: NY") and NBC ("Law & Order"), ABC's "Life on Mars" ranked No. 2 with key Men demographics: M18-34 (1.3/4-tie), M18-49 (1.8/5) and M25-54 (2.1/6).

� "Life on Mars" was up week to week by 18% in Total Viewers (5.3 million vs. 4.5 million) and by 43% in Adult 18-49 (2.0/5 vs. 1.4/4).

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 over 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 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 3/18/09.





  [march 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· BETTER OFF TED (ABC)
· CHOPPING BLOCK (NBC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· GARY UNMARRIED (CBS)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· LIFE (NBC)
· LIFE ON MARS (ABC)
· LOST (ABC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[07/22/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 14: "Untamed" Hunts and "KPop Demon Hunters" Slay in This Week's Top 10
True crime lovers also made their voices heard - documentary series "Amy Bradley Is Missing" appeared at No. 2 on the English TV list, with 12.2 million views.

[07/22/25 - 10:30 AM]
2025 NBA Las Vegas Summer League Viewership Up Double Digits
Said telecasts averaged an audience of 255,000 viewers, up 27% from last year.

[07/22/25 - 08:04 AM]
ESPN, ABC and Disney+ Score Historic Viewership for 2025 WNBA All-Star Events
The Skills Challenge & 3-Point Contest and the WNBA All-Star Game averaged 1.3 million viewers and 2.2 million viewers, respectively.

[07/21/25 - 10:09 AM]
ESPN's Outstanding Nielsen Viewership for First Six Months of 2025: At the Halfway Mark, ESPN has Achieved Multiple Successes Across the Board
ESPN on its own is up 4% year-over-year across the entire day (24 hours of programming) and up 9% when isolating the primetime hours (8-11 p.m. ET).

[07/17/25 - 01:31 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the First Half of 2025
This report, which captures ~99% of all viewing in the first half of 2025, shows that people watched a lot of Netflix - over 95B hours - spanning a wide range of genres and languages.

[07/17/25 - 09:57 AM]
"Dexter: Resurrection" Debuts to a Killer 3.1 Million Cross-Platform Viewers
Said premiere was up 44% versus "Dexter: Original Sin" and 79% versus "Dexter: New Blood."

[07/16/25 - 04:01 PM]
ESPN Airs Another of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games Ever: Indiana Fever vs Connecticut Sun Averaged 1.7 Million Viewers, Up 48% from Last Year's ESPN Average
Said telecast peaked with 2 million viewers.

[07/15/25 - 02:06 PM]
Viewership for 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Exclusively on ESPN Platforms Up Five Percent From Last Year
An average audience of 5,729,000 viewers watched the event, compared to 5,451,000 viewers in 2024.

[07/15/25 - 01:04 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week
"Nightline" posted Total Viewer gains both week to week and year to year.

[07/15/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 7: "KPop Demon Hunters" Spends Another Golden Week at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"The Sandman's" second season entered the Top 10 in 89 countries last week, while claiming the No. 1 spot in English TV with 5.9 million views.

[07/15/25 - 09:04 AM]
ABC Airs Another of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games Ever: Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever Averaged 2.1 Million Viewers, Up 69% from Last Year's ABC Average
Said audience peaked with 2.5 million viewers.

[07/14/25 - 06:08 PM]
"Celebrity Family Feud" Returns with Best Premiere in Three Years
Overall, the season 11 premiere notched the show's best performance for any telecast in Total Viewers (4.16 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.42 rating) since 8/28/22 and 8/13/23, respectively.

[07/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix and MVP's Taylor-Serrano 3 Goes the Distance with Nearly 6 Million Global Viewers
In the US, an estimated AMA of 4.2 million viewers tuned in to the main event (Live+1) according to VideoAmp and Netflix, making it the most-watched professional women's sports event of 2025.

[07/11/25 - 12:45 PM]
ABC Concludes September to May Season with Top Five Shows Among Adults 18-49 Including "High Potential," "Abbott Elementary," "The Rookie," "Shifting Gears" and "9-1-1"
Continuing to lead among broadcast series, ABC's "High Potential" stood as the No. 1 new drama among Total Viewers (16.41 million) and No. 1 new show among Adults 18-49 (3.85 rating).

[07/11/25 - 11:28 AM]
"Big Brother: Summer of Mystery" Premiere Up +10% from Last Summer
Last night, season 27 premiered to nearly 3 million viewers.