Quick Take for Monday, August 31, 2009 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" Boosts ABC Ahead of CBS, NBC and Fox on Monday, with the Net's 2nd-Biggest Audience on the Night this Summer

ABC's "CMA Music Festival" Broadcast Jumps Year to Year by 2.5 Million Viewers and by 43% in Adults 18-49, Marking Show's Biggest Audience in 4 Years

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

Boosted by "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock," ABC (7.4 million) outdrew its broadcast rivals on Monday in Total Viewers, topping CBS by 6% (7.0 million), NBC by 32% (5.6 million) and Fox by 85% (4.0 million). ABC and CBS tied in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6), beating both NBC and Fox by 43% (1.4/4 � NBC and Fox tied). With the broad-appealing special, ABC finished No. 1 on the night in key Women (W18-49/W25-54) and was the top-rated broadcast network with Teens 12-17.

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC marked its strongest Monday results in 5 weeks � since the night of "The Bachelorette" finale on 7/27/09. In fact it was the Net's second-biggest Monday audience this summer (tie).

"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "CMA Music Festival" broadcast (7.4 million and 2.0/6) posted impressive increases year to year, jumping by 2.5 million viewers and by 43% over its year-ago telecast (4.9 million and 1.4/3 on Monday, 9/8/08). In fact the show generated its biggest audience in 4 years and tallied its highest Adult 18-49 rating in 3 years � since 2005 and 2006, respectively.

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 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 8/31/09, or as dated.