or


[04/18/06 - 12:00 AM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of April 10-16, 2006

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of April 10-16, 2006

ABC Claims 3 of the Week�s Top 10 TV Shows in Adults 18-49, With �Desperate Housewives,� �Lost� and �What About Brian�

�The Ten Commandments� � Part 1 Qualifies As the Second-Highest Rated Movie This Season Among Adults 18-49

�The Ten Commandments� � Part 2 Draws ABC�s Largest Audience And Strongest Young Adult Performance on the Night In Nearly 4 Months with Non-Sports Programming

�Lost� is TV�s No. 1 Scripted Program on Wednesday on All 19 of its Original Telecasts This Season, Continuing to Grow Opposite Fox�s �American Idol� and Defeating Fox�s �Unanimous� in Viewers and Young Adults to Win at 9:30pm

With Strong Build on its Lead and Throughout its Broadcast Thursday at 9pm, �American Inventor� Takes Second Place in its Hour to CBS� �C.S.I.� in Viewers and Improves the Time Slot for ABC by 5.6 Million Viewers and by 133% in Adults 18-49

�Commander In Chief� Returns to the Lineup, Finishing Second in the Hour and Building on it Lead-in by 1 Million Viewers

Friday�s Special Airing of �Primetime� Featuring Diane�s Sawyer�s Interview with Tom Cruise Finished No. 1 in its Hour Among Adults 18-49

ABC Wins Saturday Night in Total Viewers and Young Adults With the Net�s Annual Broadcast of �The Ten Commandments�

Leading Easter Sunday by Wide Margins Among Viewers and Young Adults, ABC Wins its 12th Straight Sunday in the Key Adult 18-49 Sales Demographic

ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� Top their Time Periods by Increasing Margins Among Adults 18-49 from 7-9pm

The No. 1 TV Show Sunday in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� Leads its Time Slot by 8.1 Million Viewers and by 132% in Adults 18-49

With Similar Retention of its �Housewives� Lead-in to �Grey�s Anatomy�s� Debut, ABC�s �What About Brian� Beats CBS and NBC Combined in Adults 18-49 at 10pm

WEEK No. 30:

ABC took second place during the week of April 10, 2006 among Total Viewers (9.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.4/10). Versus the same week last season (w/o 4/11/05), the Net improved by 1.7 million viewers (9.7 million vs. 8.0 million) and built 17% among Adults 18-49 (3.4/10 vs. 2.9/8). ABC was also up from the previous week by 1.6 million viewers and by 10% among young adults.

Rankings: During the week of April 10, 2006, ABC claimed 3 of the week�s Top 10 TV shows in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, and 6 of the Top 20: �Desperate Housewives� No. 4, �Lost� � No. 6, �What About Brian SP 4/16� � No. 8, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 13, �The Ten Commandments" � Part 1 � No. 14 and �The Ten Commandments� � Part 1 � No. 20. �Desperate Housewives� and �Lost� finished the week among the Top 10 most-watched television programs. ABC News claimed TV�s Top 2 newsmagazine telecasts among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 with �20/20� and �Primetime SP 4/14�.

Monday

ABC took second on the night in both Total Viewers (11.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.0/10 � tied with CBS), delivering the Net�s most competitive finish of the night in both Nielsen measures since �Monday Night Football� ended. The Net ranked No. 1 on Monday among Women 18-49 (4.8/12), Teens 12-17 (2.4/8) and Kids 2-11 (2.4/10).

� ABC grew over the same night a year ago (4/11/05) by 4.7 million viewers (11.7 million vs. 7.0 million) and by 43% among Adults 18-49 (4.0/10 vs. 2.8/7).

�ABC Premiere Event: The Ten Commandments� � Part 1 (9:00 -11:00 p.m.)

The �ABC Premiere Event� presentation of �The Ten Commandments� � Part 1 drew 13.8 million viewers and posted a 4.6 rating, 11 share among Adults 18-49 on average during its 2-hour telecast. Part 1 drew ABC�s largest non-sports audience in the 2-hour time block in over 2 years - since 01/05/04. Additionally, the movie produced the Net�s second-strongest Adults 18-49 performance in the time period since the conclusion of �Monday Night Football.�

� Among Adults 18-49, �The Ten Commandments� � Part 1 ranks as the second-highest-rated movie this season, behind only �The CBS Sunday Night Movie � Category 7: The End of the World, Part 1� on 11/06/05.

Tuesday

Boosted by Part 2 of �The Ten Commandments,� ABC drew its largest audience (9.8 million) on the night since January and strongest Adults 18-49 (3.2/8) non-sports performance on Tuesday since December � since 1/10/06 and 12/20/05, respectively.

� ABC grew over the same night a year ago (4/12/05) by 2.4 million viewers (9.8 million vs. 7.4 million) and by 23% among Adults 18-49 (3.2/8 vs. 2.6/7).

�ABC Premiere Event: The Ten Commandments� � Part 2 (9:00 -11:00 p.m.)

The �ABC Premiere Event� presentation of �The Ten Commandments� � Part 2 attracted ABC�s largest audience (12.0 million) and highest Adults 18-49 (3.9/10) performance on the night in nearly 4 months � since 12/20/05 -- with non-sports programming.

� �The Ten Commandments� � Part 2 grew steadily in each half-hour of its 2-hour telecast among young adults. From its first half-hour to its final half-hour, �The Ten Commandments� by grew 14% among Adults 18-49 (3.7/9 to 4.2/12).

� �The Ten Commandments� � Part 2 led the final hour of primetime in Adults 18-49 (4.1/11) and Adults 18-34 (2.8/9).

Wednesday

ABC earned second place on Wednesday evening in Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), defeating third-place CBS by 9% (3.4/9) and fourth-place NBC by 28% (2.9/8).

�Lost� (9:00-10:04 p.m.)

Airing opposite an expanded edition of Fox�s �American Idol� results show during its first half-hour, ABC�s �Lost� surged over its lead-in, saw its audience increase throughout its telecast and continued beating Fox�s �Unanimous� at 9:30 p.m. to win in viewers and young adults. During the 9 o�clock hour, �Lost� (15.7 million & 6.3/16) outdelivered its drama competition in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, CBS� �Criminal Minds� (11.8 million & 3.3/8) and NBC�s �Heist� (5.3 million & 1.9/5).

� Growing from its lead-in, �Lost� gained 2.2 million viewers (14.4 million to 16.6 million) and 16% in Adults 18-49 (5.8/14 to 6.7/17) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour. Winning from 9:30-10:00 p.m., �Lost� defeated second-place Fox�s �Unanimous� by 4.4 million viewers (16.6 million vs. 12.2 million) and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (6.7/17 vs. 5.4/13).

� �Lost� ranked as TV�s No. 1 scripted program on Wednesday in viewers and young adults. The sophomore ABC drama has been the top-rated scripted program on Wednesday in all 19 of its original telecasts this season.

Thursday

�American Inventor� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

At 9:00 p.m., �American Inventor� built on its lead-in by nearly 1.0 million viewers (7.2 million vs. 6.3 million) and by 32% among Adults 18-49 (2.9/8 vs. 2.2/7), finishing second in the hour among Total Viewers. �American Inventor� increased its audience by 7% (6.9 million to 7.4 million) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 to 3.0/8) from its first-hour to its second half-hour.

� On average in its first five telecasts, �American Inventor� has improved the 9 o�clock hour for ABC by 5.6 million viewers (11.7 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 133% in Adults 18-49 (4.2/11 vs. 1.8/4), as compared the Net�s performance on the same nights last year.

�Commander In Chief� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Growing by 1 million viewers over its lead-in, the return of ABC�s �Commander In Chief� delivered with an average audience of 8.2 million viewers, finishing second in the hour. The freshman drama was up by nearly 1 million viewers compared to ABC�s average in the hour this season (8.2 million vs. 7.3 million).

� �Commander In Chief� was up in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 2.3/5) and Adults 18-34 (1.5/5 vs. 1.3/3) compared to its most recent telecast (1/24/06).

Friday

�Primetime� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:00 p.m., a special airing of �Primetime,� featuring Diane Sawyer�s exclusive broadcast interview with Tom Cruise, ranked No.1 in its hour among Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 � tied with CBS� �Ghost Whisperer�). In addition, the newsmagazine won its hour among Adults 18-34 (1.8/7) and across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (2.5/9), Women 18-49 (3.1/10) and Women 25-54 (3.8/11).

� �Primetime� surged from its lead-in by nearly 3.0 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 4.1 million) and by 92% among Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 vs. 1.2/5).

�20/20� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the final hour of prime, ABC News� �20/20� finished second in its time period, beating NBC�s original �Conviction� by 1.0 million viewers (7.6 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 30% among Adults 18-49 (2.6/8 vs. 2.0/6).

Saturday

Saturday Primetime: �The Ten Commandments� (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC posted an across-the-board winning performance on Saturday during primetime with the Net�s annual broadcast of the 1956 theatrical, �The Ten Commandments,� in Total Viewers (9.4 million) and across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (1.8/8), Adults 18-49 (3.0/11) and Adults 25-54 (3.7/11).

� ABC attracted its largest audience in over 2 years and strongest Adults 18-49 rating in over 1 year - since 2/28/04 and 2/26/05, with non-sports programming.

� �The Ten Commandments� (7:00 � 11:22 p.m.) was up from its airing last year (3/19/05) by 2.0 million viewers (8.9 million vs. 6.9 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/10 vs. 2.1/7).

Sunday

Leading its nearest competition (NBC) on Easter Sunday by over 3 million viewers (12.8 million vs. 9.7 million) and by 89% in Adults 18-49 (5.1/14 vs. 2.7/8), ABC marked its 12th straight week as the No. 1 network on the night in the Adult 18-49 sales demographic. ABC won all 8 half-hours from 7:00-11:00 p.m. The Network also delivered the No. 1 position on the evening among Adults 25-54 (5.6/14), Adults 18-34 (4.1/13), Teens 12-17 (2.7/11) and Kids 2-11 (2.0/9).

� ABC aired the Top 3 TV shows on Sunday among Adults 18-49, including �Desperate Housewives,� the debut telecast of �What About Brian� and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.� �Desperate Housewives� was also Sunday�s most-watched television show.

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

ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� jumped out in front of the opening hour of primetime in Adults 18-49, besting second-place CBS� �60 Minutes� by 22% (2.2/8 vs. 1.8/6).

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

�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� widened ABC�s winning advantage over its nearest competition during the 8 o�clock hour to 42% among Adults 18-49 (4.7/13 vs. 3.3/9 � CBS� �Cold Case�).

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

Shooting up by 8.2 million viewers and 68% in Adults 18-49 over its lead-in, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� overshadowed its closest time period competition. ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� outpaced the second-place network, NBC (�Law & Order: C.I.�), during the 9 o�clock hour by 8.1 million viewers (20.0 million vs. 11.9 million) and by 132% in Adults 18-49 (7.9/19 vs. 3.4/8).

�What About Brian� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC�s special series debut of �What About Brian� won its time period among Adults 18-49 (5.4/14). During the 10 o�clock hour, �What About Brian� beat the combined deliveries of CBS (Sunday Movie) and NBC (�Crossing Jordan�) in Adults 18-49 (5.4/14 vs. 5.3/14).

� ABC�s �What About Brian� qualifies as TV�s highest-rated midseason drama debut this year among Adults 18-49.

� On its opening telecast following �Desperate Housewives,� �What About Brian� exhibited similarly solid lead-in retention among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (63%/68%) to the debut telecast of ABC�s hit drama �Grey�s Anatomy� coming out of �Housewives� last March (68%/67% on 3/27/05).

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Live+SD), week of 4/10/06, or as dated.





  [april 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· 20/20 (ABC)
· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· AMERICAN INVENTOR (ABC)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· CATEGORY 7: THE END OF THE WORLD (CBS)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF (ABC)
· CONVICTION (NBC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CROSSING JORDAN (NBC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HEIST (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT (USA)
· LOST (ABC)
· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)
· TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE (ABC)
· UNAN1MOUS (FOX)
· WHAT ABOUT BRIAN (ABC)
· WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.

[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.

[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.

[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.