'BIGGEST LOSER' FINALE PACES NBC'S PRIMETIME WEEK OF MAY 11-17

THE THREE-HOUR FINALE OF 'THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES' WEIGHS IN WITH NBC'S TOP 18-49 TUESDAY RATING IN MORE THAN THREE YEARS, EXCLUDING OLYMPICS

'THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES' CONCLUDES AS THE MOST-WATCHED 'LOSER' CYCLE IN BOTH 18-49 VIEWERS AND TOTAL VIEWERS SINCE THE FIRST 'BIGGEST LOSER' IN 2004-05

'LOSER' IS THE #4 PRIMETIME TELECAST OF THE WEEK IN 18-49 VIEWERS

'FARRAH'S STORY' ON FRIDAY IS THE #1 PROGRAM OF THE NIGHT IN ADULTS 18-49 AND OTHER KEY MEASURES, DELIVERING NBC'S TOP NON-OLYMPIC SCORE IN THE TIME PERIOD IN MORE THAN A YEAR IN BOTH 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS

ON THURSDAY, 'PARKS AND RECREATION' RETAINS ITS FULL 18-49 LEAD-IN FROM 'EARL' FOR A FIFTH STRAIGHT WEEK

'THE OFFICE' AND '30 ROCK' WIN THEIR TOUGH THURSDAY TIME PERIODS IN MEN 18-49 AND 18-34, TOPPING THE SEASON FINALES OF 'GREY'S ANATOMY' AND 'CSI' IN THOSE DEMOS

'THE OFFICE' IS TV'S #1 SCRIPTED SERIES SEASON-TO-DATE IN THE VALUABLE ADULT 18-34 DEMO

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. � May 19, 2009 � Paced by the three-hour season finale of "The Biggest Loser: Couples," which gave NBC its highest-rated non-Olympic Tuesday night in more than three years, NBC averaged a 2.0 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 6.4 million viewers overall for the week of May 11-17, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Tuesday's finale of "The Biggest Loser: Couples" was the #4-ranked program of the week in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49, tied with the season finales of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and Fox's "House" (each with a 4.7 rating). In 18-49 viewers, "Biggest Loser" ranked #4 outright, topping "Housewives" and "House." Among adults 18-34, "Biggest Loser" ranked #5 among all programs this week, tied with the season finale of ABC's "Lost."

"The Biggest Loser: Couples" finished it run as the top-scoring "Biggest Loser" cycle in both total viewers and 18-49 viewers since the initial series aired during the 2004-05 television season.

Primetime averages for the week of May 11-17 in adults 18-49 were Fox (3.3/10), ABC (2.9/9), CBS, (2.9/8), NBC (2.0/6), Univision (1.5/4), CW (0.9/3) and Telemundo (0.5/1). In overall total viewers the weekly averages were CBS (11.2 million), ABC (9.4 million), Fox (9.0 million), NBC (6.4 million), Univision (3.8 million), CW (2.1 million) and Telemundo (1.2 million).

Through the first 34 weeks of the 2008-09 season, NBC is the only one of the major broadcast networks to decrease its median age versus the prior season. NBC is the "second youngest" of the major broadcast networks, with a median age of 47.5 years (versus 48.3 years at this point last season), 2.5 years "older" than Fox (45.0 years). By comparison, ABC's median age this season is 49.5 and CBS's median age is 54.0.

Season to date, NBC is running within 0.8 of a rating point of first place in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49, versus a deficit of 1.4 points at this time last season.

Through Sunday, May 17, with 25 nights of the 28-night Nielsen May sweep measured, NBC is the only major network delivering an increase versus the May 2008 sweep. NBC is up 11 percent in adults 18-49 versus last year's sweep (2.1 vs. 1.9, "most current"), while Fox is down 3 percent (3.2 vs. 3.3), ABC is down 10 percent (2.8 vs. 3.1) and CBS is flat (2.8 vs. 2.8). In adults 18-34, NBC is up 7 percent versus May 2008 (1.6 vs. 1.5) while the other major networks are all down.

Among adults 18-49, "The Office" ranks #9 among all series programs in the May sweep-to-date with a 4.3 rating ("most current"), while "The Biggest Loser" ranks #10 (tied, with a 4.2). Also among the top 20 series programs in the May sweep in adults 18-49 are "Law & Order: SVU" (#13, 4.1 rating) and "Heroes" (#16 tied, 3.9). In adults 18-34, "The Office" is the #4-ranked show in the sweep overall with a 5.0 rating and is the #2 scripted program behind only ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." Also among the top 20 in adults 18-34 are NBC's "Heroes" (#10, 3.8), "30 Rock" and "The Biggest Loser" (tied at #11, with 3.5 ratings) and "Law & Order: SVU" (#16 tied, 3.3).

Current May 2009 sweep averages through 25 nights in adults 18-49 are: Fox (3.2), ABC and CBS (2.8), NBC (2.1) and CW (0.9). In total viewers, the 25-night May sweep averages are CBS (11.0 million), ABC (8.9 million), Fox (8.6 million), NBC (6.5 million) and CW (2.1 million).

NBC highlights for the week of May 11-17:

* On Tuesday, the three-hour season finale of "The Biggest Loser: Couples" weighed in with NBC's heftiest 18-49 rating for a Tuesday night since December 6, 2005, excluding Olympics. This was the highest-rated "Biggest Loser" telecast in adults 18-49 since the finale of "Biggest Loser 3" on Wednesday, December 13, 2006.

* "Biggest Loser" gained 75 percent in 18-49 rating and added 53 percent or 4.6 million persons in total viewers from its first half-hour to its sixth. This extraordinary build resulted in a dominant win in the 10-11 p.m. ET hour, in which "Loser" beat the ABC-CBS competition combined in adults, men and women 18-49, adults, men and women 18-34 and adults and women 25-54

* In both total viewers and 18-49 viewers, "The Biggest Loser: Couples" is the top-scoring cycle of "The Biggest Loser" since the initial series that aired during the 2004-05 season. Versus last fall's "Loser" cycle, "Biggest Loser: Couples" is up 17 percent in 18-49 and 18 percent in total viewers. Versus the year-ago spring cycle, "Biggest Loser: Couples" is up 11 percent in 18-49 and 14 percent in total viewers.

* On Thursday, "Parks and Recreation" retained 100 percent of its "My Name is Earl" lead-in, marking the fifth week in a row that "Parks" has maintained 100 percent or built on its 18-49 lead-in. Prior to the debut of "Parks," NBC had this season averaged a 12 percent fall-off in 18-49 versus original "Earl" lead-ins with regular programming in this slot. In adults 18-34, "Parks" built on its lead-in by 43 percent. .

* Also on Thursday, "The Office" and "30 Rock" won their tough time periods in men 18-49 and men 18-34, topping the season finales of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," CBS's "CSI" and Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" in those demographics.

* On Friday, the two-hour NBC News special "Farrah's Story" delivered NBC's highest 18-49 rating and biggest total viewership in its time period in more than a year, excluding Olympics. "Farrah's Story," which chronicled Farrah Fawcett's two-and-a-half year battle with cancer, was the top-rated program of the night on any network in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and other key measures.

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Additional NBC highlights for the week of May 11-17:

On Monday May 11 from 9-10 p.m. ET, "Medium" (2.0 rating, 5 share, 6.4 million viewers overall) built by 82 percent in 18-49 rating and 51 percent or more than 2.1 million persons in total viewers versus its lead-in from the previous hour � a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 4.2 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. for "Deal or No Deal."

Monday from 10-11 p.m. ET, a second episode of "Medium" (2.3/6 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 15 percent in 18-49 rating and 14 percent in total viewers.

On Tuesday, May 12 from 8-11 p.m. ET, the season finale of "The Biggest Loser: Couples" (4.7/13 in 18-49, 11.8 million viewers overall) weighed in with NBC's heftiest 18-49 rating for a Tuesday night since December 6, 2005 (excluding Olympics). This was the highest-rated "Biggest Loser" telecast in adults 18-49 since the finale of "Biggest Loser 3" on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 (a 4.8/13 from 8-10 p.m.). Versus the year-ago "Biggest Loser" finale (a 4.4/11 in 18-49 and 11.4 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. on April 15, 2008), "The Biggest Loser: Couples" finale was up 7 percent in adults 18-49 and 4 percent in total viewers.

From its first half-hour to its sixth, "Biggest Loser" gained 75 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 5.6/15 from a 3.2/10) and added 53 percent or 4.6 million persons in total viewers (to 13.4 million from 8.8 million). This extraordinary build resulted in a dominant win in the 10-11 p.m. ET hour, in which "Loser" beat the ABC-CBS competition combined in adults, men and women 18-49, adults, men and women 18-34 and adults and women 25-54. In adults 18-49, "Loser" prevailed in the 10 p.m. hour with a 93 percent margin of victory (5.4 vs. a 2.8 for CBS's "Without a Trace" in second place). In adults 18-34, the "Loser" margin of victory in the 10 p.m. hour was 171 percent (4.6 vs. a 1.7 for "Without a Trace").

Overall from 8-11 p.m. ET, "The Biggest Loser" ranked #2 in adults 18-49, behind only Fox's line-up with "American Idol." With a 4.7 rating in adults 18-49, "Loser" topped all other competing telecasts except "Idol" on Tuesday night, including CBS's "NCIS" and "The Mentalist," Fox's "Fringe" and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" results show.

In both total viewers and 18-49 viewers, "The Biggest Loser: Couples" is the top-scoring cycle of "The Biggest Loser" since the initial series that aired during the 2004-05 season ("The Biggest Loser: Couples" in "most-current" averages for the entire cycle is averaging a 4.1 rating in 18-49 and 10.2 million viewers overall). In 18-49 rating, the current cycle ties the second cycle (2005-06, 4.1), behind only the first cycle (a 4.3).

Versus last fall's "Loser" cycle (a 3.5 in 18-49 and 8.6 million viewers overall), this latest cycle is up 17 percent in 18-49 and 18 percent in total viewers. Versus the year-ago spring cycle (a 3.7 in 18-49 and 9.0 million viewers overall), "Biggest Loser: Couples" is up 11 percent in 18-49 and 14 percent in total viewers.

On Wednesday May 13 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" averaged a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 5.4 million viewers overall. From 9-10 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" delivered a 1.2/3 in 18-49 and 4.4 million viewers overall.

Wednesday from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Law & Order" (2.2/6 in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 83 percent in 18-49 rating and 78 percent or 3.5 million persons in total viewers.

On Thursday, May 14 at 8 p.m. ET, the season finale of "My Name is Earl" (2.0/7 in 18-49, 4.8 million viewers overall) increased 18 percent in 18-49 rating versus the prior week.

Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET, "Parks and Recreation" (2.0/6 in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall) retained 100 percent of its "Earl" lead-in among adults 18-49 and built on its lead-in among adults 18-34 by 43 percent (2.0 vs. 1.4). This is the fifth week in a row that "Parks" has maintained 100 percent of its 18-49 lead-in. Prior to the debut of "Parks," NBC this season had averaged a 12 percent fall-off in 18-49 versus original "Earl" lead-ins with regular programming in this time period. "Parks & Recreation" ranked #1 (tied) among men 18-34.

Thursday from 9-9:31 p.m. ET, the season finale of "The Office" (3.5/9 in 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall) ranked #1 in its highly competitive time period in men 18-34 and men 18-49, topping the season finales of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," CBS's "CSI" and Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" in those demographics. Among men 25-54, "The Office" tied for #1 in the slot (with "CSI").

"The Office" ranked #2 in its tough slot in adults 18-49, topping "CSI" head-to-head for the sixth straight week in primetime's key demographic.

Season-to-date, "The Office" is the #11-ranked primetime program in adults 18-49, despite airing in head-to-head competition with the #1 show on the CBS schedule ("CSI") and one of the two top shows on the ABC schedule ("Grey's Anatomy"). Among adults 18-34, "The Office" is primetime television's #3 show and #1 scripted series (averaging a 5.6/15 season-to-date in that demo), behind only the Tuesday and Wednesday editions of "American Idol."

Thursday from 9:31-10:01 p.m. ET, "30 Rock" (2.8/7 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall) ranked #1 in the time period in men 18-49 and men 18-34 versus the concluding half-hours of the season finales of "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI" and "Hell's Kitchen."

Thursday 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "Southland" averaged a 1.6/4 in 18-49 and 4.6 million viewers overall, versus extraordinary competition that included the concluding hour of the "Grey's Anatomy" season finale and a special Thursday telecast of the season finale of CBS's "CSI: NY."

On Friday, May 15 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" (1.3/5 in 18-49, 5.3 million viewers overall) reported the network's highest 18-49 rating in the time period in nine weeks (since March 13) and biggest overall viewership in the slot in 18 weeks (since January 23). "Dateline" ranked #2 in the time period in total viewers, women 18-49 (tied), adults 25-54 (tied) and women 25-54.

Friday from 9-11 p.m. ET, the NBC News special "Farrah's Story" (2.3/8 in 18-49, 9.0 million viewers overall) delivered NBC's highest 18-49 rating and total-viewer results in this time period in more than a year, excluding Olympics (since a March 28, 2008 telecast of "Dateline NBC"). The 2.3 in adults 18-49 is also the highest 18-49 rating for any network in this time period without sports programming since February 13, 2009.

"Farrah's Story," which chronicled Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer using footage shot on her own home video camera, won its time period and was the #1 telecast of the night in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and other key measures.

From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Farrah's Story" increased by 35 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 2.7/9 from a 2.0/7) and 19 percent or 1.6 million persons in total viewers (to 9.8 million from 8.2 million). In the 10:30-11 p.m. lead-in to local news, "Farrah's Story" generated a 19 percent advantage in adults 25-54 over its closest competitor (with a 3.7 vs. a 3.1 for CBS's season finale of "Numb3rs" in second place).

NBC ranked #1 for the night in adults 18-49 (tied with CBS). This marks the first time NBC has earned a share of the 18-49 lead on Friday night since the Olympics last August.

On Saturday, May 16 from 8-9 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "Law & Order: SVU" averaged a 0.7/3 in 18-49 and 3.3 million viewers overall. From its first half-hour to its second, "SVU" increased by 60 percent in adults18-49 (to a 0.8 from a 0.5) and by 43 percent in women 18-49 (to 1.0 from 0.7). From 9-10 p.m., an encore "Southland" averaged a 0.6/2 in 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers overall.

Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "Law & Order" (0.9/3 in 18-49, 4.6 million viewers overall) built from half-hour to half-hour by 25 percent in adults 18-49 (to a 1.0/4 from a 0.8/3).

On Sunday, May 17 from 7-9 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" averaged a 1.2/4 and 5.9 million viewers overall. From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Dateline" increased in 18-49 rating by 27 percent (to a 1.4 from a 1.1) and in overall viewership by 43 percent or 2.1 million persons (to 7.0 million from 4.9 million).

Sunday from 9-11 p.m. ET, the special "Saturday Night Live: Just Shorts" averaged a 1.5/4 in 18-49 and 3.8 million viewers overall.