ABC Wins 4 Straight Thursdays - FlashForward and Private Practice Grow

Please Note: MLB post-season coverage on TBS of Game 1 for the National League Playoffs (LA Dodgers � Philadelphia Phillies) will be a competitive factor on Thursday night and a consideration in week-to-week comparisons.

� Prime: ABC won Thursday for the 4th straight week among Adults 18-49 (4.0/11), beating second-place CBS by 14% (3.5/10), while topping NBC (2.4/7) and Fox (2.4/6) by 67% in a third-place tie.

� 8-9pm: Growing week to week, ABC freshman FlashForward finished a strong second to CBS' Survivor in Adults 18-49 (3.1/9), leading Fox's veteran Bones by 19% (2.6/7), and NBC's comedies (Community/Parks and Recreation) by 55% (2.0/6). FlashForward won its hour for the 4th week in a row with Adults 18-34, leading Survivor by 33% (2.8/9 vs. 2.1/7). FlashForward surged 12% week-to-week in Adults 18-34.

� Online Viewing: Based on the first round of data for the new season (Nielsen Online Video Census for Sept. '09), which included just the first week of the new season and the pilot episode of the show on ABC.com, �FlashForward� ranked #1 overall - drawing the highest number of Unique Viewers (1.5 million) for any television show on any online broadcast site in 4 months � since May '09. In fact ABC.com (5.5 million) stood as the #1 online broadcast site for September �09 in Unique Viewers, topping runner-up CBS by 15% (4.8 million) and third-place NBC by 49% (3.7 million).

� 9-10pm: Grey's Anatomy stood as Thursday's #1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (4.9/13) for the 4th consecutive week. Dominating the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's Grey's beat CSI by 36% (3.6/9), NBC's The Office/30 Rock (season premiere) by 40% (3.5/9) and Fox's Fringe by 123% (2.2/6).

� 10-11pm: Up week to week in the key young adult sales demo, ABC's Private Practice won the 10 o'clock hour for the 3rd week in a row with Adults 18-49 (3.9/11), beating CBS' The Mentalist 15% (3.4/9) and NBC's Jay Leno by 117% (1.8/5).

Quick Take for Thursday, October 15, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Leads 4th Consecutive Thursday of the Season in Adults 18-49

As NBC and CBS Continue to Decline on Thursday Year to year, ABC is Up Over the Year-Ago Night by 5% in Viewers and by 8% in Adults 18-49

Growing Across the Board Week to Week, "FlashForward" Leads Its 8 O'clock Competitors for the 4th Straight Week in Adults 18-34

"ABC.com" and "FlashForward" Rank No. 1 in Online Viewing for September

Dominating the 9 O'clock Hour in Adults 18-49, "Grey's Anatomy" Registers as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show for the 4th Week in a Row

Winning the 10pm Hour for the 3rd Straight Thursday in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Private Practice" Surges Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49

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

ABC won its 4th consecutive Thursday night in Adults 18-49 (4.0/11), beating second-place CBS by 14% (3.5/10), while topping NBC (2.4/7) and Fox (2.4/6) by 67% in a third-place tie. The Network also led the evening for the 4th week running with Adults 18-34 and all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

� While CBS and NBC continued to downtrend on the night year to year, ABC was up over the year-ago Thursday (10/16/08) by 6% in Total Viewers (11.1 million vs. 10.5 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (4.0/11 vs. 3.7/10).

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

Growing week to week, ABC freshman "FlashForward" finished second in the 8 o'clock hour to CBS' "Survivor: Samoa" in Adults 18-49 (3.1/9), defeating Fox's veteran-drama "Bones" by 19% (2.6/7) and NBC's comedy block ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation") by 55% (2.0/6). "FlashForward" won its hour for the 4th week in a row with Adults 18-34, outperforming "Survivor" by 33% (2.8/9 vs. 2.1/7). The new show surged 12% week to week in Adults 18-34.

� The ABC freshman drama was up week to week in Total Viewers and across each of the key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).

� Online Viewing: Based on the first round of data for the new season (Nielsen Online Video Census for Sept. '09), which included just the first week of the new season and the pilot episode of the show on ABC.com, "FlashForward" ranked No. 1 overall - drawing the highest number of Unique Viewers (1.5 million) for any entertainment show on any online broadcast TV site in 4 months � since May '09. In fact ABC.com (5.5 million) stood as the No. 1 online broadcast site for September �09 in Unique Viewers, topping runner-up CBS by 15% (4.8 million) and third-place NBC by 49% (3.7 million).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

"Grey's Anatomy" qualified as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (4.9/13) for the 4th consecutive week. Dominating the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Grey's" beat "CSI" by 36% (3.6/9), NBC's "The Office"/"30 Rock" (season premiere) by 40% (3.5/9) and Fox's "Fringe" by 123% (2.2/6).

"Private Practice" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Up over the prior week, ABC's "Private Practice" won the 10 o'clock hour for the 3rd straight Thursday in Adults 18-49 (3.9/11), beating CBS' "The Mentalist" by 15% (3.4/9) and NBC's "Jay Leno" by 117% (1.8/5). The ABC drama delivered an even wider margin of victory over CBS' "The Mentalist" in Adults 18-34, leading by a best-yet 94% (3.5/11 vs. 1.8/6).

� Exhibiting strong retention of its lead-in, "Private Practice" grew over the prior week by nearly 1 million viewers (10.4 million vs. 9.5 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/11 vs. 3.6/10).

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 Ratings), 10/8/09.