Quick Take for Sunday, October 4, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

"AFV" Opens its 20th TV Season with its Biggest Audience in Over 6 Months

At 8pm, ABC's "Home Edition" Beats CBS' "Amazing Race" by Wide Margins Marking the ABC Unscripted Series' Most-Watched Telecast in Nearly 1 Year

Sunday's No. 1 Non-Sports TV Show, "Desperate Housewives" Builds on its Season Premiere for the First Time Ever to Notch its Best Numbers Since March

With its Top Results Since Last Spring, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" Beats its Drama Competition in the 10pm Hour, Besting CBS' "Cold Case" by 45% in Adults 18-49

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite NBC with "Sunday Night Football" (Pittsburgh-San Diego) and an NFL overrun-boosted Fox (Denver-Dallas), ABC beat out its non-sports-driven competition on the evening, defeating CBS by 5% in Total Viewers (10.9 million vs. 10.4 million) and by a substantial 48% in Adults 18-49 (3.4/9 vs. 2.3/6).

� ABC was up over its week-ago season-opening Sunday in Total Viewers (+7% - 10.9 million vs. 10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+6% - 3.4/9 vs. 3.2/9), with each of its series building week to week in the key young adult sales demo.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" opened its 20th TV Season on a high note, attracting the series' biggest audience (8.0 million) in more than 6 months and its top Adult 18-49 number (2.2/6) since early May � since 3/29/09 and 5/3/09, respectively.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" topped its unscripted competition during the 8 o'clock hour by wide margins, beating CBS' "Amazing Race XV" by 1.8 million viewers (11.7 million vs. 9.9 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (3.4/8 vs. 2.8/7).

� Building nicely on its week-ago season premiere numbers, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" generated its most-watched telecast in nearly 1 year and its top Adult 18-49 number in 6 months � since 10/26/08 and 3/29/09, respectively.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite substantial competition on the night, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" stood as Sunday's No. 1 non-sports TV program in Total Viewers (14.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.9/11-tie). The top non-sports show in the 9 o'clock hour for 2nd week in a row, "Housewives" outperformed CBS' series debut of "Three Rivers" (9.2 million and 2.0/5) by over 5 million viewers and by 145% in Adults 18-49.

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Desperate Housewives" marked its strongest results in more than 6 months � since 3/22/09. It was the first time ever for "Housewives" to build from its season premiere to its second telecast of the season.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" continued to beat its drama competition in the 10 o'clock hour by wide margins among Adults 18-49, leading CBS' "Cold Case" by 45% (3.2/8 vs. 2.2/6). "Brothers & Sisters" finished No. 1 in the hour, beating NBC's NFL coverage for the 2nd straight week among key Women demos (W18-49/W25-54).

� Up week to week, "Brothers & Sisters" pulled in its biggest overall audience (9.6 million) since March and its highest Adult 18-49 number (3.2/8) since April � since 3/22/09 and 4/19/09, 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 33% 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 (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day), 10/4/09.