or


[10/25/05 - 12:00 AM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of October 17-23, 2005

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of October 17-23, 2005

ABC Claims 4 of Top 10 Programs of the Week in Viewers and Young Adults; �Desperate Housewives� is No. 1 for the Fifth Week in a Row in Adults 18-49

ABC Ranks the No. 1 in Adults 18-34 for the Fifth Straight Week, The Network�s Longest Weekly Winning Streak in the Demo in 11 Years

Growing from the Same Week Last Year, Season to Date ABC is Up by 1.2 Million Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49, the Only Net to Grow in the Key Sales Demo

Ranking No. 1 on Monday in Adults 18-49 for 7 Straight Weeks, ABC Delivers its Longest Winning Streak on the Evening in 6 Years

ABC�s �Commander In Chief� Leads Tuesday at 9pm by 5.2 Million Viewers, Continuing to Improve the Time Period for ABC in Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC�s �Boston Legal� Beats CBS� �Close to Home,� Improving the Tuesday 10 O�clock Hour for ABC Among Viewers and Key Adults

ABC Wins its Fifth Straight Wednesday Across Viewers, Adults and Teens

ABC�s �George Lopez� and �Freddie� Rank No. 1 from 8-9pm on Wednesday Among Adults 18-49, Beating Fox�s MLB Baseball Playoff Coverage

For the Second Week in a Row, �Freddie� Builds on its �George Lopez� Lead-in

�Lost� is Wednesday�s No. 1 Show for the Fifth Consecutive Week, Dominating Its Time Period and Posting the Series� Highest-Ever Men 18-34 Number

ABC�s �Invasion� Ranks No. 1 Wednesday at 10pm Among Adults 18-34, Earning its Second-Highest Ratings to Date in Women 18-34 and Women 18-49

ABC Takes its Fifth Straight Sunday, Up Substantially from the Same Night Last Year, When it Also Faced Fox�s Coverage of the World Series Game 2

The No. 1 Show on Sunday, �Desperate Housewives� is the Top Draw in its Time Period, Beating the World Series in Viewers and Young Adults

With Season-Best Retention of its Lead-in, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� Leads Sunday at 10pm by Wide Margins in Viewers and Young Adults

WEEK No. 5:

ABC took a strong second place during the week of October 17, 2005 among Adults 18-49 (3.9/11), tied in audience share and is pacing within two-tenths of a rating of first-place CBS (4.2/11).

� For the fifth week in a row, ABC stood as the No. 1 television network in Adults 18-34, beating out second-place Fox by 10% (3.2/10 vs. 2.9/9). This represents ABC�s longest weekly Adult 18-34 winning streak in 11 years � since a streak from week of 10/31-12/26/94.

� ABC was the biggest network gainer over the same week last year (w/o 10/18/04), growing by 1.6 million viewers (10.5 million vs. 8.9 million) and 15% among Adults 18-49 (3.9/11 vs. 3.4/9). Season to date, ABC is up by 1.2 million viewers (11.1 million vs. 9.9 million) and by 11% among Adults 18-49 (4.2/11 vs. 3.8/10) over the same point last season. The Net is up the most among the 6 broadcast networks this season among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact only ABC is up this season in Adults 18-49, while the other nets are either flat or down: ABC = +11% (4.2/11 vs. 3.8/10), CBS = flat (4.0/11), NBC = -13% (3.3/9 vs. 3.8/10), Fox = -24% (3.2/9 vs. 4.2/11), WB = -12% (1.5/4 vs. 1.7/4) and UPN = flat (1.5/4).

Rankings: ABC aired 4 of the Top 10 TV shows during the week, including 2 of the Top 3 among Total Viewers and 3 of the Top 4 in Adults 18-49. Viewers: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 2, �Lost� � No. 3, �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 5 and �Commander In Chief� � No. 10. Adults 18-49: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1, �Lost� � No. 3, �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 4 and �NFL Monday Night Football � No. 9. The No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-49 for the fifth straight week, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� also stood as the No. 1 program of the week in Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and across the women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). ABC�s �Lost� stood as the week�s No. 1 television program in Men 18-49, Men 18-34 and Teens 12-17. Sunday�s replay of �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� qualifies as TV�s highest-rated repeat telecast on any net in Adults 18-49 since early May � since 5/4/05, a repeat of �Stacked� coming out of Fox�s �American Idol�.

Monday

For the 7th week in a row, ABC earned the No. 1 position on Monday night among Adults 18-49 (4.9/13 � tied with CBS). The Network is delivering its longest winning streak on the night in 6 years � since a streak that went from 11/1/99-1/3/00. ABC also delivered the No. 1 network position on Monday night in Adults 18-34 (4.0/12), Teens 12-17 (2.2/8-tie) and Kids 2-11 (1.5/6).

�Wife Swap� (8:00-9:00 p.m. Note: �Wife Swap� airs at various times across the U.S.)*

ABC�s �Wife Swap� earned second place in its time period among Adults 18-49, beating out NBC�s �Surface� (3.1/9 vs. 3.0/8). The ABC unscripted show ranked No. 1 in its time period among its core audience of Women 18-34 (3.4/11).

� Over the course of its five telecasts in the hour, �Wife Swap� has improved the time period for ABC by wide margins. Versus ABC�s delivery last season in the time period with regular programming during the run of �Monday Night Football,� �Wife Swap� increased the Network�s delivery by 2.7 million viewers (7.5 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 81% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/9 vs. 1.6/5).

�Monday Night Football: St. Louis at Indianapolis� (9:07 p.m. � 12:02 a.m.)

ABC�s broadcast of �NFL Monday Night Football,� between the St. Louis Rams and the Indianapolis Colts, drew an average audience of 14.5 million viewers and a 5.8 rating, 15 share among Adults 18-49. Although the game was fairly close throughout the first half, the Colts scored 31 points during the second half of the contest to beat the Rams by 45-28.

� ABC�s regular season �NFL Monday Night Football� game beat Fox�s �MLB National League Baseball Championship Game 5� by nearly 4 million viewers and by 61% in Adults 18-49 (St. Louis-Houston = 11.6 million & 3.6/9).

� ABC�s �MNF� stood as the No. 1 TV program of the evening among Adults 18-34 (4.9/14) and across each of the key men demographics: Men 18-34 (6.3/19), Men 18-49 (7.7/20) and Men 25-54 (8.8/21).

Tuesday

�Commander In Chief� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in and gaining audience throughout its telecast, ABC�s �Commander In Chief� was the top draw in its time period, outpacing second-place CBS (�Amazing Race�) by 5.2 million viewers (16.3 million vs. 11.1 million). The new ABC drama also won the time slot among Adults 25-54 (5.9/13).

� On average, �Commander In Chief� has improved the time period for ABC by 6.5 million viewers (16.5 million vs. 10.0 million) and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/11 vs. 4.1/10) from the Net�s performance in the hour at the same point last season.

� �Commander In Chief� again produced strong tune-in for ABC in the 9:00 p.m. hour, jumping from its lead-in by 8.7 million viewers and by 54% in Adults 18-49. From its first half-hour to its second half-hour, the freshman drama grew by 7% in Total Viewers (15.7 million to 16.8 million) and by 10% among Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 to 4.5/11).

�Boston Legal� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Taking second-place in its hour to time period veteran �Law & Order: SVU,� ABC�s �Boston Legal� outpaced CBS� �Close to Home� in Total Viewers (11.6 million vs. 9.9 million) and among Adults 18-49 (3.4/9 vs. 3.3/9).

� Versus ABC�s delivery with original series programming in the hour last season (�NYPD Blue�/�Line of Fire�), �Boston Legal� has improved the Net�s performance by 24% in Total Viewers (11.7 million vs. 9.4 million), by 17% in Adults 18-34 (2.1/6 vs. 1.8/5), by 9% in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 3.2/8) and by 15% in Adults 25-54 (4.6/11 vs. 4.0/10) on average.

Wednesday

For the fifth straight week, ABC took first place on Wednesday evening in viewers (13.5 million), across the adult demos (AD18-34 � 5.1/14, AD18-49 � 5.7/14 and AD25-54 � 6.4/15) and among Teens 12-17 (2.9/10). ABC defeated second-place Fox on the night, with its coverage of the deciding Game 6 of the �MLB Baseball National League Championship Series,� by 4% in viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (13.0 million viewers & 4.2/10).

�George Lopez� (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

For the third week in a row, ABC�s �George Lopez� won its half-hour among Adults 18-49 (3.0/9). �George Lopez� defeated its comedy competition in the time period, CBS� �Still Standing,� by 13% in Total Viewers (7.9 million vs. 7.0 million) and by 30% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9 vs. 2.3/7).

�Freddie� (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in for the second week in a row in viewers and young adults, ABC�s second telecast of �Freddie� won its time period in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic (3.5/9) for the second straight week, beating Fox�s �MLB Baseball Playoffs� on both occasions. Like its lead-in, �Freddie� beat out its comedy competition in its time period (CBS� �Yes, Dear�) by solid margins in Total Viewers (+7% - 8.1 million vs. 7.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+35% - 3.5/9 vs. 2.6/7).

�Lost� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Lost� posted a dominant victory in its time period competition, surpassing second-place Fox�s MLB Baseball Playoff game between Houston and St Louis by 7.2 million viewers (21.4 million vs. 14.2 million) and by 111% in Adults 18-49 (9.3/22 vs. 4.4/11).

� The sophomore ABC drama was the highest-rated television program on Wednesday in viewers and young adults for the fifth straight week.

� Opposite the deciding sixth game of professional baseball�s 2005 National League Championship Series, �Lost� delivered the series� second-highest rating ever among Adults 18-34 (8.2/22) and hit it highest-ever rating among Men 18-34 (7.5/22 - tie).

�Invasion� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Versus its NBC and CBS drama competition, ABC�s �Invasion� took a close second in the 10 o�clock hour among Adults 18-49, just one-tenth of a rating point out of a tie for first place with CBS� �C.S.I.: NY� (4.7/12 vs. 4.8/12). The ABC freshman drama won the time period among Adults 18-34 (4.4/12), topping Fox�s playoff baseball coverage (4.0/12), NBC�s �Law & Order� (3.4/10) and CBS� �C.S.I.: NY� (3.8/11). �Invasion� was the second-highest-rated show of the night in Adults 18-34, trailing only �Lost.�

� Behind only its debut telecast, ABC�s �Invasion� marked the series� second-highest numbers to date among Women 18-34 (4.813) and Women 18-49 (5.4/13).

� On average �Invasion� has improved ABC�s performance in the hour by 38% in Total Viewers (12.6 million vs. 9.1 million), by 37% in Adults 18-49 (5.2/13 vs. 3.8/10) and by 40% in Adults 25-54 (6.0/14 vs. 4.3/10) over the Net�s average with original regular programming last season.

Sunday

ABC was the No. 1 network on Sunday for the fifth straight week, leading second-place Fox, with its coverage of the �2005 World Series Game 2,� in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC beat Fox�s primetime coverage of the 2005 World Series in both in Total Viewers (16.3 million vs. 6.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (6.8/16 vs. 5.2/13). For the third week in a row ABC won the night across all key demographic categories, including Total Viewers, Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

� ABC was up from same night last year by 2.4 million viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49, when it also faced Game 2 of the World Series on Fox (13.9 million & 5.8/14 on 10/24/04).

� ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� and �Grey�s Anatomy� stood as the Top 2 TV programs on Sunday in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, respectively.

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

From 7-8pm, �America�s Funniest Home Videos� was the top non-sports show in the hour among Total Viewers (9.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/8).

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

Surging from its lead-in and gaining audience against the World Series, ABC�s repeat installment of �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� ranked as the No. 1 show in its hour, beating the World Series across the key adult demographics (AD 18-34 � 4.5/12, AD 18-49 � 5.1/12 and AD 25-54 � 5.7/12) among Teens 12-17 (3.3/10) and Kids 2-11 (3.5/12).

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

The No. 1 show on Sunday night for the fifth week in a row in viewers and young adults, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� (25.2 million & 11.0/24) beat the World Series (17.8 million & 5.8/13) in the time period by wide margins to dominate the hour in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

� �Desperate Housewives� was up sharply from the same night last year (21.5 million & 9.7/21 on 10/24/04), when it also faced the second game of the World Series.

�Grey�s Anatomy� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

With its best lead-in audience retention of the season, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� won the 10 o�clock hour, beating the World Series. Against its entertainment competition, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� outdrew NBC�s �Crossing Jordan� by 5.9 million viewers (18.0 million vs. 12.1 million) and overshadowed its combined NBC and CBS competition by 43% in Adults 18-49 (8.3/20 vs. 5.8/13). The ABC sophomore drama also topped the combined NBC and CBS Adult 25-54 numbers during the final hour of the night by 28% (9.2/20 vs. 7.2/15).

Source: Nielsen Media Research, week of 10/17/05, or as dated.





  [october 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· AMAZING RACE, THE (CBS)
· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CLOSE TO HOME (CBS)
· COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF (ABC)
· CROSSING JORDAN (NBC)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· FREDDIE (ABC)
· GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW, THE (ABC)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· INVASION (ABC)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· LINE OF FIRE (ABC)
· LOST (ABC)
· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)
· NYPD BLUE (ABC)
· STACKED (FOX)
· STILL STANDING (CBS)
· SURFACE (NBC)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)
· YES, DEAR (CBS)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[01/07/26 - 12:32 PM]
Bowl Season on ESPN Networks Delivers Strongest Audience Since 2015-16
ABC delivered its largest non CFP bowl audience in 12 years, averaging 6.2 million viewers across six games.

[01/07/26 - 09:29 AM]
In 2025, Fans Power ESPN and "ESPN on ABC" to Its Most-Watched Year in Over a Decade
ESPN networks increased industry-leading sports share to 35 percent, up from 31 percent in 2024.

[01/06/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX NFL Rings in Best Regular Season Since 2015
The regular season averaged 19.633 million viewers for the network.

[01/06/26 - 03:00 PM]
Record-Setting Season as "Sunday Night Football" on NBC and Peacock Averages 23.5 Million Viewers & Paces as Primetime's #1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
"Sunday Night Football" averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 23.5 million viewers for the 2025 season.

[01/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 29 - "Stranger Things 5" Concludes Right Side Up at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the English TV list with 12.7 million views is the new Harlan Coben mystery series "Run Away," centered on a father desperate for clues about his missing daughter while a string of related murders heightens the urgency to find her.

[01/05/26 - 02:34 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on ESPN Score 19.3 Million Average Viewers; CFP Up YOY Through Two Rounds
The Rose Bowl (Indiana vs. Alabama) topped all coverage with 23.9 million viewers on average.

[01/05/26 - 09:49 AM]
Prime Video Delivers "Thursday Night Football's" Most-Watched Season Ever
The 2025 season averaged 15.33 million viewers throughout its 15-game campaign, marking a +16% increase over the 2024 season and the third-consecutive year of double-digit, year-over-year viewership growth.

[01/02/26 - 03:45 PM]
"Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" Rises to Four Year High Reaching 30 Million Total Viewers at Midnight
The telecast averaged 18.8 million total viewers in the 11:30pm-12:30am hour alone.

[01/02/26 - 09:49 AM]
FOX NFL's Week 17 "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top with 28.8 Million Viewers
The Eagles-Bills close finish marked FOX's second most-watched telecast of the regular season.

[12/31/25 - 12:46 PM]
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-Vikings Becoming the Most-Streamed NFL Game in US History
Said coverage averaged 27.5 million viewers in the US, with US viewership peaking at over 30 million viewers.

[12/31/25 - 10:11 AM]
NFL on Prime's Christmas Night Showdown Between the Broncos and Chiefs Sets New Viewership Marks for "TNF"
The streamer's "Thursday Night Football" finale averaged 21.06 million viewers, peaking with 22.90 million.

[12/31/25 - 10:08 AM]
ESPN Delivered Largest Average NBA Christmas Audience Since 2018
The San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game in the 2:30 p.m. window became ESPN's most-watched NBA Christmas game in the timeslot since 2017, averaging 6.7 million viewers.

[12/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 22 - "Stranger Things 5" Runs Up That Hill to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the list was "Emily in Paris" Season 5 with 13.3 million views.

[12/30/25 - 08:00 AM]
Aced It! ESPN Scored Most-Watched 2025 NCAA Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
The entirety of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament finished up 13% year over year, averaging 666,000 viewers across the 15 matches and featured the most-watched Regionals on record.

[12/24/25 - 10:01 AM]
Dec. 20 Holiday Episode Ranks as #1 "Saturday Night Live" Telecast of the Season
Hosted by Ariana Grande with musical guest Cher, the episode drew 5.4 million viewers.