Quick Take for Wednesday, April 1, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Finishing No. 2 to an "Idol"-Fueled Fox on the Evening, ABC Increases Over the Year-Ago Wednesday for 8 Weeks in a Row in Adults 18-49

ABC's "Lost" Qualifies as Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Series In Adults 18-49 for Its 10th Consecutive Original Telecast This Season

ABC's 8-9pm Comedy Block Continues to Deliver Strong Audience Retention in The Hour, Improving Week to Week with "Ted" Holding 95% of "Scrubs'" Lead-in

"Better Off Ted" Grows with Viewers, AD25-54, Key Men and Young Women

Opposite "Idol," "Lost" is Up Week to Week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Series Finale of "Life on Mars" Finishes a Strong No. 2 in the 10pm Hour In Adults 18-49, Achieving Best-Since-Premiere Numbers in the Time Period

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

ABC placed No. 2 to an "Idol"-fueled Fox among Adults 18-49 (2.7/7) on Wednesday night. The Net also finished a competitive second on the evening with Adults 18-34 (2.4/7), defeating third-place CBS by 28% (1.8/5) and fourth-place NBC by 109% (1.0/3).

� Continuing to generate year-to-year increases on the evening, ABC's Wednesday numbers grew over the same night last year (4/2/08) by 1.0 million viewers (6.7 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 35% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7 vs. 2.0/5). The Net has delivered increases over the same Wednesday last year for 8 straight weeks in the key young adult sales demo.

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

ABC's 8:00-9:00 p.m. comedy block ("Scrubs"/"Better Off Ted") continued to produce strong audience retention for ABC in the hour, improving week to week. At 8:30 p.m., "Better Off Ted" retained 94% of "Scrubs'" Total Viewers (4.7 million vs. 5.0 million) and 95% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.9/6), up solidly from the prior week on both counts (87%/86%). "Ted" built on its lead-in among Adults 18-34 and Men 18-34.

� "Better Off Ted" was up week to week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, Men 18-49, Men 25-54 and Women 18-34, while holding 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience.

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

Surging from its lead-in opposite Fox's "American Idol" in the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Lost" held wide advantages over its drama competition in the slot among Adults 18-49. "Lost" (4.2/10) bested CBS' "Criminal Minds" replay by 83% (2.3/6) and NBC's original "Life" by 200% (1.4/3). In addition, "Lost" registered its 10th straight original broadcast as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49. The ABC drama was also once again the night's top-rated scripted series in the other two Adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (4.0/10) and Adults 25-54 (4.4/10).

� Opposite "American Idol," ABC's "Lost" was up week to week in both Total Viewers (9.3 million vs. 9.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/10 vs. 4.1/10).

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

On its series finale, "Life on Mars" placed a strong No. 2 among Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) in the 10 o'clock hour, pacing within one-tenth of a rating point of first-place CBS' veteran "CSI: NY" replay (2.2/6) and topping NBC's rebroadcast "Law & Order" by 24% (1.7/5). "Life on Mars" delivered the No. 1 position in the hour among Men 18-49 (1.9/5)

� Growing its overall audience for the 3rd straight week, "Life on Mars" concluded its run with best-since-premiere numbers in the time period among Total Viewers (5.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6-tie).

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 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 4/1/09.