Quick Take for Wednesday, August 19, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Improves Year to Year on Wednesday for the 11th Straight Week

Growing Week to Week, "Millionaire" is the Most-Watched TV Show During Wednesday's 8 O'clock Hour for the 2nd Week in a Row

Shifting to 9pm Against NBC's "Talent," a Repeat "Wipeout" Builds on its Lead-in by 29% and Beats Out Fox's High-Profile "Octomom" Special

ABC News' "Primetime: Crime" Surges Year to Year in the 10pm Hour

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

For the 11th week in a row, ABC grew its Wednesday audience year to year, up by 2.0 million viewers (5.7 million vs. 3.8 million) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.3/4) from the year-ago night (8/20/08).

"Millionaire � 8/19" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Growing week to week by 6% in Viewers (6.9 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5 vs. 1.3/5), ABC's "Millionaire" stood as the most-watched TV show in Wednesday's 8 o'clock hour for the 2nd week in a row.

� Wednesday's "Millionaire" improved ABC's numbers in the hour over the same night last year by 3.5 million viewers (6.9 million vs. 3.4 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5 vs. 1.3/4).

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

Once again shifting into the 9 o'clock hour this week, ABC's repeat "Wipeout" built on its Adult 18-49 lead-in by 29% against stiff competition from NBC's "America's Got Talent." In fact the "Wipeout" replay topped the second hour of Fox's original high-profile 2-hour "Octomom" special by 16% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.4 million) and by 6% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5).

"Primetime: Crime" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC News' "Primetime: Crime" was up over its performance in the time period on the same night last year by nearly 1 million viewers (5.0 million vs. 4.1 million) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 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 32% currently, from 26% 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), 8/19/09.