Primetime Ratings Report
For the week of September 7, 2009
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
Continuing to Drive Strong Tune-in for ABC in Tuesday's 9pm Hour,
"Shaq VS" Jumps Week to Week by 15% in both Viewers and Adults 18-49
"Primetime: The Outsiders" Pulls ABC's Top Numbers in 2 Months
During Tuesday's 10 O'clock Hour with Regular Programming
More Than Doubling its Lead-in Friday at 10pm, ABC News' "20/20" Opens
With its Strongest Results in 11 Weeks Among Total Viewers and Key Adults
Sunday at 9pm, ABC's "Shark Tank" Surges Week to Week and Tops its Freshman Unscripted Competition in the Slot, CBS' "Neighborhood," for the 5th Straight Week
Tuesday
ABC saw its highest Tuesday Adult 18-49 number (1.6/5) in 2 months and top Adult 18-34 (1.4/4) non-sports delivery on the evening in nearly 4 months - since 7/7/09 and 5/19/09, respectively.
"Shaq VS" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Continuing to jump from its lead-in and build sharply from start to finish, "Shaq VS" drove strong tune in for ABC in Tuesday's 9 o'clock hour against established unscripted time-period competition on both NBC ("America's Got Talent") and CBS ("Big Brother"). On the show's fourth episode, Shaquille O'Neal challenged championship fighter Oscar de la Hoya to a five-round heavy-hitting exhibition match-up.
� Coming out of a rebroadcast airing of "Shark Tank" from 8:00-9:00 p.m., "Shaq VS" surged from its lead-in by 23% in Total Viewers (3.8 million vs. 3.1 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.0/3).
� "Shaq VS" was up week to week by 15% in Total Viewers (3.8 million to 3.3 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 to 1.3/4).
"Primetime: The Outsiders" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Building sharply from its lead-in, ABC News' "Primetime: The Outsiders" posted the Net's highest numbers in the hour in Total Viewers (5.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/6) with regular programming in 2 months - since 7/7/09. In addition, the ABC newsmagazine turned in its second-strongest performance of the season in both measures.
Friday
"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
More than doubling its lead-in among Total Viewers (+132%) and Adults 18-49 (+133%), "20/20" generated the ABC newsmagazine's largest audience (5.1 million) and highest Adult 18-49 (1.4/4) and Adult 25-54 (1.7/5) numbers in 11 weeks � since 6/26/09. Featuring her first one-on-one, in-depth television interview since the tragic death of her brother, Michael Jackson, La Toya Jackson spoke candidly to Barbara Walters on the season opener of "20/20."
Saturday
With coverage of "NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Chevy Rock and Roll 400" from the Richmond International Speedway," ABC earned second place on Saturday evening in Total Viewers (5.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.7/6).
Sunday
"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Although CBS carried a decided lead-in advantage coming into the 9 o'clock hour from an original "Big Brother 11" over-run until 9:25 p.m., ABC's "Shark Tank" defeated CBS' season finale of "There Goes the Neighborhood" in the slot by 14% in Total Viewers (4.2 million vs. 3.7 million) and by 40% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/3 vs. 1.0/2). In fact it was the 5th week in a row for "Shark Tank" to beat out its CBS freshman unscripted competition in the hour with viewers and young adults.
� Despite facing NBC's highly-rated Sunday Night Football (Chicago-Green Bay) in the hour, "Shark Tank" grew its numbers from start to finish by 5% in Total Viewers (4.1 million to 4.3 million) and 15% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/3 to 1.5/3).
� "Shark Tank" surged week to week by 24% in Total Viewers (4.2 million vs. 3.4 million) and by 27% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/3 vs. 1.1/3).
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 27% 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), week of 9/7/09, unless stated otherwise.
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