Quick Take for Wednesday, August 26, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Places No. 2 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 and No. 1 in Key Men, Improving Year to Year on the Evening for the 12th Week in a Row

ABC's "Wipeout" Returns to the 8pm Hour at No. 1 in Viewers and Adults 18-49

In the 9pm Hour Opposite NBC's "Talent," ABC's "Crash Course" Finishes Well Ahead of CBS and Fox in Adults 18-49 and Leads with Hard-to-Reach Men 18-34

"Crash Course" Boosts its Slot for ABC by Solid Margins Over the Summer Averages

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

ABC earned second place on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5), while delivering the No. 1 position on the evening among key Men: M18-34 (1.5/5) and M18-49 (1.7/5).

� For the 12th consecutive week ABC increased its Wednesday audience year to year, surging by 2.2 million viewers (5.5 million vs. 3.3 million) and by 64% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.1/3) over the year-ago night (8/27/08).

"Wipeout" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Wipeout" returned to its regular 8 o'clock time period, after shifting to 9:00 p.m. for two weeks coming out of "Millionaire," finishing No. 1 in Total Viewers (7.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/8). It was the 8th straight original telecast for "Wipeout" to place No. 1 in the hour with Total Viewers, the 4th straight in Adults 18-49 and the 9th straight across all key Men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

� "Wipeout" registered as the night's No. 1 TV show in key Men (M18-34/M18-49). It was Wednesday's No. 2 TV show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, trailing only NBC's "Talent" in the 9 o'clock hour.

� "Wipeout" was up from its most recent original airing two weeks ago by 1.4 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (6.2 million and 2.2/7 on 8/12/09).

"Crash Course" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite NBC's veteran "America's Got Talent" in the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's series debut of "Crash Course" ranked No. 2 among Adults 18-49 (1.9/5), outpacing CBS by 46% (1.3/4) and Fox by 46% (1.3/4). Additionally in the hour, "Crash Course" beat out "America's Got Talent" by 13% with Men 18-34 (1.7/6 vs. 1.5/5).

� "Crash Course" boosted ABC's performance in the slot by 9% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.7 million) and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.7/5), over its averages in the time period this summer. In fact excluding "Wipeout" telecasts in the hour, "Crash Course" pulled in ABC's second-strongest numbers in the time period this summer.

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), 8/26/09.