Quick Take for Thursday, October 21, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on Thursday for the 5th Week in a Row in Adults 18-34 and Key Women

Surging Over its Lead-in, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" Jumps to the Top of the 9pm Hour to Lead its Time Period in Adults 18-49 for the 5th Consecutive Week

Leading for the 5th Week in a Row, ABC's "Private Practice" Beats CBS' "The Mentalist" by 27% in Adults 18-34

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

Up against MLB Playoffs during primetime on Fox, ABC ranked No. 1 on Thursday for the 5th week in a row this season with Adults 18-34 (2.3/7) and key Women demos: W18-34 (3.6/11) and W18-49 (4.0/11).

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

Surging from its lead-in (+145% in Viewers/+225% in Adults 18-49), ABC self-starter "Grey's Anatomy" shot to the top of Thursday's 9 o'clock hour to lead its time period for the 5th consecutive week in Adults 18-49. In its time period, "Grey's" (3.9/10) bettered CBS' "CSI" by +18% (3.3/9), NBC's comedies by +39% ("The Office"/"Outsourced" - 2.8/7) and Fox's "2010 National League Championship Series - Game 5" by +39% (2.8/7).

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

In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Private Practice" stood as the No. 2 series to CBS' "The Mentalist," beating out NBC's "The Apprentice" by 4.2 million viewers (7.8 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 115% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/8 vs. 1.3/4). For the 5th week in a row, "Private Practice" dominated "The Mentalist" with Adults 18-34, outdelivering the CBS drama by 28% (2.3/7 vs. 1.8/6).

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 38% currently, from 33% 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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 10/21/10.