ABC Wins Sunday as Lost Finale Soars

Some early info on ABC's Sunday and the Lost finale, ahead of the regular press release.

With the series finale of Lost, ABC posted a definitive victory the final Sunday night of the 2010 May Sweep and 2009-10 TV Season, leading its nearest competition by 2.3 million viewers (CBS) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (NBC). Winning the evening for 4th time in 5 weeks among Adults 18-49, ABC registered its 6th straight May as Sunday's #1 TV network in the key young adult sales demo.

· Excluding the nights of its Academy Awards broadcasts, ABC marked its strongest Sunday in nearly 2-1/2 years among Adults 18-49 - since 12/2/07.

From 7:00-9:00 p.m., Lost: The Final Journey (a clip show covering the series' 6 seasons), drew an average audience of 9.8 million viewers and an 4.0/13 in Adults 18-49 to win its time period on both counts.

· The Lost recap special generated ABC's best non-Oscar Adult 18-49 number in the 2-hour time slot since November 2007 - since 11/25/07.

Surging from its lead-in at 9:00 p.m., the 2-1/2 hour series finale of Lost pulled in an average audience of 13.5 million viewers and an 5.8/15 in Adults 18-49 to stand as the #1 TV show on Sunday night on both counts. Lost soared to the top of its time period, beating out its nearest network competition (NBC's season finale of Celebrity Apprentice from 9:00-11:00 p.m.) by 4.2 million viewers by 71% in Adults 18-49. Lost registered as TV's highest-rated drama finale this season in Adults 18-49.

· In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Lost generated its biggest finale in 3 years - since 5/23/07. It was the series' strongest telecast overall since February 2008 in viewers and young adults- since 2/21/08 and 2/14/08, respectively.

· ABC estimates that 20.5 million unique viewers watched the series finale of Lost during its 2-1/2 hour broadcast - unduplicated viewers that watched 6-minutes or more of the program.

From 12:05-1:05am, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost generated a big boost and broad exposure to the show, up by 3.22 million viewers (4.88 million vs. 1.66 million) and by 2.04 million in Adults 18-49 (2.73 million vs. 690,000) over its late-night average this season. In fact it was JKL's 3rd-largest ever Adult 18-49 audience (any telecast), behind only its 2 post-Super Bowl airings.

Quick Take for Sunday, May 23, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Wins the Final Sunday of the Season, Leading the Night in Adults 18-49 For the 4th Time in 5 Weeks and for its 6th Consecutive May Sweep Period

ABC Marks its Top-Rated Non-"Oscar" Sunday in Nearly 2-1/2 Years

"Lost: The Final Journey" Recap Special Wins from 7-9pm, Pulling ABC's Best Non-"Oscar" Adult 18-49 Rating in the Slot Since November 2007

Sunday's No. 1 TV Show, the Series Finale of "Lost" Soars to the Top of its Time Slot

"Lost" Marks its Best Finale in 3 Years, with the Series' Top Telecast Since Feb �08

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost" Generates Broad Exposure for the Show, with its 3rd-Highest Ever Adult 18-49 Number, Behind only its 2 Post-"Super Bowl" Airings

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

With the series finale of "Lost," ABC posted a definitive victory on the final Sunday night of the 2010 May Sweep and 2009-10 TV Season, leading its nearest competition by 2.3 million viewers (11.4 million vs. 9.1 million - CBS) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (4.8/14 vs. 2.4/7 - NBC). Winning the evening for 4th time in 5 weeks among Adults 18-49, ABC registered its 6th straight May Sweep as Sunday's No. 1 TV network in the key young adult sales demo.

· Excluding the nights of its "Academy Awards" broadcasts, ABC marked its strongest Sunday in nearly 2-1/2 years among Adults 18-49 - since 12/2/07.

"Lost: The Final Journey" (7:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 7:00-9:00 p.m., "Lost: The Final Journey" (a retrospective covering the series' 6 seasons) drew an average audience of 9.8 million viewers and a 4.0/13 in Adults 18-49 to win its time period on both counts.

· The "Lost" recap special generated ABC's best non-"Oscar" Adult 18-49 number in the 2-hour time slot since November 2007 - since 11/25/07.

"Lost" (9:00-11:30 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in at 9:00 p.m., the 2-1/2 hour series finale of "Lost" pulled in an average audience of 13.5 million viewers and a 5.8/15 in Adults 18-49 to stand as the No. 1 TV show on Sunday night on both counts. "Lost" soared to the top of its time period, beating out its nearest network competition (NBC's season finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" from 9:00-11:00 p.m.) by 4.2 million viewers by 71% in Adults 18-49. In addition, Lost registered as TV's highest-rated drama finale this season in Adults 18-49.

· In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Lost" generated its biggest finale in 3 years - since 5/23/07. It was the series' strongest telecast overall since February 2008 in viewers and young adults- since 2/21/08 and 2/14/08, respectively.

· ABC estimates that 20.5 million unique viewers watched the series finale of "Lost" during its 2-1/2 hour broadcast - unduplicated viewers that watched 6-minutes or more of the program.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost" (12:05-1:05 a.m.)

From 12:05-1:05 a.m., ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost" generated a big boost and broad exposure to the show, up by 3.22 million viewers (4.88 million vs. 1.66 million) and by 2.04 million in Adults 18-49 (2.73 million vs. 690,000) over its average this season.

· In fact it was "JKL's" 3rd-largest ever Adult 18-49 audience (any telecast), behind only its 2 post-"Super Bowl" airings.

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 36% currently, from 31% at the same point in 2009. 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), 5/23/10.