Primetime Ratings Report For the week of March 2, 2009 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

Up Over the Prior Week and Same Week Last Year, ABC Airs 5 of the Top 15 TV Shows in Adults 18-49 and 3 of the Top 10 Most Watched

ABC's "The Bachelor: After the Rose" is the Week's No. 2 TV Show With Young Women, Topping Fox's "Idol" Wednesday and Thursday

ABC's Monday Lineup Towers Over the Competition in Viewers and Young Adults, Marking its Highest Adult 18-49 Rating on the Night in 2-1/2 Years

Season Closer of "The Bachelor" Draws Franchise's Largest Finale Audience in Over 5 Years and Highest Adults 18-49 Number in Over 4 Years

"The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" Hits Franchise Highs, Standing as Monday's No. 1 Show with ABC's Best Numbers in Monday's 10pm Hour Since May 2006

"The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Part 2" Wins Tuesday's 10pm Hour, Logging ABC's Top Tuesday 10pm Telecast in 15 Months in Viewers and Adults 18-49

For the 7th Straight Wednesday, "Lost" is TV's No. 1 Scripted Show in Adults 18-49

Growing Week to Week, "Lost" Wins Wednesday's 9pm Hour in Viewers and Young Adults, Beating Fox's "Idol"-Driven "Lie to Me" by its Biggest Margins Yet

ABC News' "20/20 Special - Siegfried and Roy: The Magic Returns" Attracts The Net's Largest Audience During Friday's 9 O'clock Hour in 15 Months

ABC Stands as Sunday's No. 1 Net for the 4th Straight Week in Adults 18-49, Beating its Nearest Competition on the Night by 27%

Sunday's No. 1 TV Show, "Desperate Housewives" Marks its 15th Time In 16 Original Broadcasts as the Evening's Top Entertainment Series

Winning its Slot in Viewers and Young Adults with Best-Ever Lead-in Retention, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" Tallies its Strongest 10 O'clock Telecast in 3 Months

WEEK No. 24:

Growing from the prior week and over the same week last year, ABC finished in a near-tie for No. 2 in Adults 18-49, pacing within one-tenth of a rating point of CBS for the week (2.7/7 vs. 2.8/8). Among Adults 18-34, ABC (2.2/7) took a solid second to Fox for the week of March 2, 2009, beating both CBS and NBC by 29% (1.7/5 � CBS and NBC tied).

� ABC's numbers surged over the same week last year (w/o 3/3/08) by 10% in Total Viewers (8.0 million vs. 7.3 million) and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/7 vs. 2.3/6). In fact among Adults 18-49, ABC has been up or even on 7 of 9 weeks since the start of 2009. The Net was also up over the prior week by 8% in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (w/o 2/23/09 = 7.4 million and 2.5/7).

Rankings: The Network aired 5 of the week's Top 15 TV programs in Adults 18-49: "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" � No. 4, "The Bachelor" � No. 5, "Lost" � No. 7, "Desperate Housewives" � No. 9 and "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose 2" � No. 13. In addition, ABC claimed 3 of the Top 10 most-watched programs overall for the week: "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" � No. 5, "The Bachelor" � No. 6 and "Desperate Housewives" � No. 9. ABC's Monday night "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" telecast outdelivered Fox's "American Idol" on Wednesday and Thursday with young women (W18-34/W18-49), to finish as the No. 2 TV show of the week behind only "American Idol-Tues" on both counts.

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 30% currently, from 23% 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.

Monday

ABC's Monday lineup, featuring the season finale of "The Bachelor" followed by "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose," lifted the Net to the No. 1 rank on the night in Total Viewers (16.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.8/14). ABC towered over CBS by 41% (4.1/10), Fox by 76% (3.3/8) and NBC by 115% (2.7/8), turning in its highest Adults 18-49 performance in over 2 1/2 years � since 5/15/06. In fact, excluding the night of the "Academy Awards," ABC registered its second-best rating on any night this season in Adults 18-49, behind only season premiere Thursday (9/25/08). ABC won the night across each of the key Women demographics: Women 18-34 (8.1/19), Women 18-49 (8.7/19) and Women 25-54 (9.4/19), qualifying as the No. 1 Network on the night among Women 18-34 for the last 9 weeks, while winning Monday evening among Women 18-49 for the 8th time in the past 9 weeks.

� On a big night overall for ABC, the Network's success in primetime extended well into Late Night. ABC News' "Nightline" delivered a 2.1 rating in Adults 25-54 in the LPMs, beating NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" by 17% (1.8) and CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" by 40% (1.5).

� With an appearance by "The Bachelor," Jason Mesnick, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (2.5) delivered its strongest Monday performance ever, beating both NBC's highly-promoted debut telecast of "Jimmy Fallon" in the Metered Market Households by 9% (2.3) and CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" by 47% (1.7). In the LPM markets, "JKL's" Monday telecast topped "Jimmy Fallon" by 27% among Women 18-49 (1.4 vs. 1.1) and by 50% among Women 25-54 (1.8 vs. 1.2).

"The Bachelor" (8:00-10:02 p.m.)

The 13th season finale of ABC's "The Bachelor" drew 15.5 million viewers and a 5.4 rating, 13 share in Adults 18-49, attracting the series' largest finale audience in over 5 years ("The Bachelor 4" - Bob) and top Adults 18-49 finale rating in over 4 years ("The Bachelor 5" - Jesse) � since 11/19/03 and 5/19/04, respectively). "The Bachelor" finale jumped over its most-recent regular telecast 2 weeks ago (12.5 million & 4.4/10 on 2/16/09) by 3.0 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49. In fact, for the first time in 6 years (10 seasons/cycles ago - going back to Spring 2003) and only the 2nd time in its history, "The Bachelor" has built on the previous performance on each regular telecast since its season opener on 1/5/09 (7 consecutive telecasts), excluding the prior week's "Tell All" episode.

� Winning each half-hour in viewers and young adults, "The Bachelor" grew by 4.0 million viewers (13.5 million to 17.5 million) and by 40% Adults 18-49 (4.5/11 to 6.3/14) from its first half-hour to its final half-hour.

"The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in by 2.0 million viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49, "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" won the 10 o'clock hour and stood as Monday's No. 1 program in Total Viewers (17.5 million) and across all key Adults demographics: Adults 18-34 (6.0/16), Adults 18-49 (6.7/16) and Adults 25-54 (7.4/17), posting best-ever numbers for the franchise's "After the Final Rose" specials. In fact, among the younger demos, ABC beat the combined performances in the hour of both CBS and NBC, by 8% in Adults 18-49 (6.7/16 vs. 6.2/15) and by 46% in Adults 18-34 (6.0/16 vs. 4.1/11).

� "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" logged ABC's best numbers in the hour in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 in over 2 1/2 � since 5/15/06.

Tuesday

ABC's Tuesday lineup attracted 6.6 million viewers and a 2.3 rating, 6 share in Adults 18-49, posting the Net's highest numbers on the night in 6 weeks � since 1/20/09. Continuing to show year-to-year improvements, ABC was up by 1.6 million viewers and by 35% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year (5.0 million & 1.7/4 on 3/4/08). In fact, ABC has been up or even over the same Tuesday last year in the key young adult demo for the last 9 weeks, since "American Idol-Tuesday" premiered.

"The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Part 2" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Similar to Part 1 that aired the previous night, "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Part 2" won the 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (10.9 million) and across all key Adults demographics: Adults 18-34 (3.5/10), Adults 18-49 (4.0/11) and Adults 25-54 (4.5/11). "Part 2" posted the Net's best numbers in the hour in over 3 months � since 11/25/08. In addition, "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Part 2" stood as the No. 2 program of the night across the Adults demo, behind only Fox's "American Idol."

� "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Part 2" drew ABC's best numbers for a 10:00 p.m. Tuesday telecast in viewers and young adults in 15 months � since 11/20/07. It was ABC's highest Tuesday 10:00 p.m. telecast in its core Women 18-34 demo in nearly 8 years � since 5/22/01.

Wednesday

Turning in its most competitive finish on the night with its regular lineup since the return of "Idol" in January, ABC placed a solid No. 2 to Fox on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49 (2.8/8), beating third-place CBS by 27% (2.2/6) and fourth-place NBC by 87% (1.5/4).

� Continuing to deliver increasing year-to-year returns on the night, ABC's Wednesday results were up from the same night last year (3/5/08) by nearly 1.0 million viewers (6.9 million vs. 6.0 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/8 vs. 2.1/5). In fact it was ABC's 5th consecutive week to deliver year-to-year young adult growth on the night, finishing up or even with the year-ago Wednesday for 7 weeks in a row.

"Lost" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Catapulting from its lead-in by 6.1 million viewers and by 206% in young adults and gaining audience from start to finish, ABC's "Lost" won the 9 o'clock hour, defeating second-place Fox's "Idol"-driven "Lie to Me" by its biggest margins yet in both Total Viewers (+5% - 10.7 million vs. 10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (+32% - 4.9/12 vs. 3.7/9).

� ABC's "Lost" registered its 7th week in a row as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49. The ABC drama was also the evening's highest-rated scripted show in the other two key Adult demos: Adults 18-34 (4.5/13) and Adults 25-54 (5.3/12).

� "Lost" surged week to week by 6% in Total Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (2/25/09 = 10.1 million and 4.4/11).

"Life on Mars" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Life on Mars" was up week to week by 8% in Total Viewers (5.3 million vs. 4.9 million) and by 12% in Adult 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.7/5).

Friday

"Wife Swap" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Wife Swap" (4.3 million & 1.3/5 in Adults 18-49) topped both NBC's back-to-back episodes of "Howie Do It" (4.0 million & 1.2/4) and Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles" (2.9 million & 1.0/4).

"20/20-Special Siegfried and Roy: The Magic Returns" (9:00-9:59 p.m.)

Building sharply from its lead-in (+4.2 million viewers and +54% in Adults 18-49), a special edition of ABC News' "20/20," anchored by Elizabeth Vargas, about the entertainment icons and their farewell performance, ranked No. 1 in the 9 o'clock hour among Adults 19-49 (2.0/6-tie) and Adults 25-54 (2.8/8-tie). The ABC newsmagazine placed second in the hour with 8.5 million viewers, trailing only CBS' "Flashpoint."

� "20/20" drew ABC's largest audience and highest Adults 25-54 rating in the 9 o'clock hour in over one year - since 12/7 and 11/30/07, respectively.

Sunday

Beating its nearest competition on the night by 27% (3.3/9 vs. 2.6/7 � CBS), ABC ranked as Sunday's No. 1 network in Adults 18-49 for the 4th consecutive week.

� "Desperate Housewives" qualified as Sunday's No. 1 TV program in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact "Housewives" logged its 15th time in 16 original broadcasts this season to stand as Sunday's top entertainment series with viewers and young adults.

Please Note: With the change to Daylight Savings Time, Sunday's primetime Adult 18-49 TV usage levels declined 7% overall week to week (37.1% vs. 39.9%). The 7 o'clock hour was most impacted by the changeover to an extended hour of daylight, with the opening hour of prime seeing 13% less Adult 18-49 usage (30.8% vs. 35.5%), as compared to the prior week.

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

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" took second place during the 7 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (6.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/6), while delivering the No. 1 position in the hour with Adults 18-34 (1.5/6).

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

Building on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" took second place in its slot in Total Viewers (9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/8). The ABC unscripted series moved up to No. 1 at 8:30 p.m. in Adults 18-49. For its 3rd straight telecast, "Home Edition" ranked No. 1 in its hour among key Women demographics: W18-34 (2.8/8) and W18-49 (3.7/10).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Sunday's No. 1 TV show, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" won the 9 o'clock hour among Total Viewers (13.7 million) and Adults 18-49, overshadowing its nearest competitor by 47% in the key young adult sales demo (4.7/11 vs. 3.2/8 � Fox's "Family Guy"/"American Dad").

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Exhibiting its best-ever lead-in retention of an original "Desperate Housewives," ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" won the 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (10.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.4/9), leading its time slot in the key sales demo for the 2nd week in a row.

� Carrying its momentum over from the prior week's 2-hour broadcast, "Brothers & Sisters" surged from its most recent 1-hour telecast in the time period by 1.3 million viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (9.0 million and 3.1/8 on 2/15/09). On both counts, "Brothers & Sisters" tallied its strongest 10 o'clock airing in the past 3 months � since 12/7/08.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 3/2/09, unless stated otherwise.