or


[11/07/06 - 04:41 PM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of October 30, 2006
ABC spins the numbers for the week of October 30-November 5.

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of October 30, 2006

ABC Finishes in a Virtual Tie for First with NFL-Fueled NBC in Adults 18-49, Claiming the Week�s Top 2 TV Programs in the Key Young Adult Sales Demo

Season to Date ABC is Now Up in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, And the Network�s Non-Sport Increases Are the Biggest of Any Network

�Desperate Housewives� is the No. 1 Show of the Week; ABC Airs 8 of the Week�s Top 20 TV Series in Adults 18-49 and 4 of the Top 6 Most-Watched

ABC is the Top Network on Halloween in Viewers and Adults 18-49, Marking its Eighth Straight Week as Tuesday�s Most-Watched Network

�Dancing with the Stars� Wins its Time Period by 42% in Viewers and by 47% in Adults 18-49, Once Again Qualifying as Tuesday�s Most-Watched TV Program

ABC Wins Wednesday in Adults 18-49 for the Fifth Week in a Row

For the Eighth Straight Week, �DWTS the Results Show� Dominates its Hour in Viewers and Young Adults, Again Qualifying as the Night�s Most-Watched TV Show

Younger Skewing �Lost� Dominates Older Skewing CBS� �Criminal Minds� in Young Adults, Winning the Time Period by 32% in Adults 18-49 and by 58% in Adults 18-34

For the Fifth Consecutive Week, ABC�s �Lost� is Wednesday�s No. 1 TV Show in Adults 25-54, Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Among Teens 12-17

ABC Wins the Opening Night of the 2006 November Sweep in Adults 18-49

The Net Attracts its Biggest Audience on the First Night of a November Sweep in 13 Years and its Top Adult 18-49 Number in Over 15 Years

ABC�s �Ugly Betty� Grows Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49 And Marks the Series� Highest Women 18-49 Number in 4 Weeks

�Grey�s Anatomy� is the Most-Watched Program on the First Night of the Sweep; Thursday�s No. 1 TV Show in the Adult Demos on All Six of its Original Telecasts

Excluding its Season Premiere and Last Season�s Finale, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� Generates its Strongest Results Since February

�Brothers & Sisters� Handily Defeats its CBS Drama Competition in Adults 18-49, Coming in with the Series� Second-Highest Viewer and Young Adult Numbers

WEEK No. 7:

During the week of October 30, 2006, ABC finished in a virtual tie for first place in Adults 18-49 with Sunday Night Football-fueled NBC, pacing within one-tenth of a rating point and tying in audience share (3.9/11 vs. 4.0/11). Please note: NBC�s weekly averages exclude approximately 35 minutes of low-rated programming from 7:00-7:35 p.m. on Sunday night that was pulled out of the mix (�sustained�), potentially boosting its overall weekly totals and its standings. ABC won its 7th weekly frame this season across the key women demographics: W18-34 (4.2/12), W18-49 (5.2/14) & W25-54 (6.0/14). Disney-owned ABC was once again the No. 1 broadcaster with Kids 2-11 (1.3/6).

� Even though it does not have the advantage of �Monday Night Football� in this season�s averages, season to date (�all programs� basis) ABC is now up in both Total Viewers (+8% - 11.7 million vs. 10.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+3% - 4.1/11 vs. 4.0/11) over the same point a last season. The Net is also up this season among Adults 18-34 (+3%), across the key women demographics (W18-34 +18%, W18-49 +15% & W25-54 +17%), among Teens 12-17 (+5%) and Kids 2-11 (+8%).

� Excluding sports from the season-to-date numbers to adjust for the loss of �Monday Night Football,� ABC�s primetime �non-sports� performance is up substantially over last season by 21% in Total Viewers (12.3 million vs. 10.2 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (4.3/12 vs. 3.8/10). On both counts, ABC is delivering the biggest increases of any broadcaster in the �non-sports� averages.

� Again without the benefit of �MNF� in its averages this year, ABC grew from the same week last year (w/o 10/31/05) in Total Viewers (+8% - 11.4 million vs. 10.6 million) and among Adults 18-34 (+3% - 3.2/10 vs. 3.1/10). ABC retained 100% of its Adult 18-49 rating year to year. ABC has delivered gains from the comparable year-ago week for 7 straight weeks in Total Viewers and has been up or even with its year-ago Adult 18-49 performance in each of the last 3 weeks.

Weekly Rankings: ABC claimed 8 of the week�s Top 20 TV series in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, including 3 of the Top 5: �Desperate Housewives� and �Grey�s Anatomy� tied at No. 1, �Lost� � No. 5, �Brothers & Sisters� � No. 9, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� and �Dancing with the Stars� tied at No. 12, �DWTS the Results Show� � No. 16 and �Ugly Betty� � No. 20. The Network aired 4 of the Top 6 most-watched television programs of the week: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1, �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 3, �Dancing with the Stars� � No. 5 and �DWTS the Results Show� � No. 6. ABC�s �Dancing with the Stars� and �DWTS the Results Show� stood as the week�s Top 2 most-watched unscripted programs, outdrawing both NBC�s �Deal No Deal� and CBS� �Survivor: Cook Islands,� respectively.

Monday

�The Bachelor: Rome� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-10:00 p.m. �The Bachelor� built on its lead-in and grew by 9% in Total Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49 from start to finish. �The Bachelor: Rome� took second place in its time period among Adults 18-34 (2.6/7), Women 18-34 (4.0/10) and Women 18-49 (4.8/10).

�What About Brian� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �What About Brian� posted week-to-week increases in both Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 6.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.7/7).

� �What About Brian� ranked No. 1 in its hour among Women 18-34 (3.8/11), while finishing second among Women 18-49 (4.2/11) and Women 25-54 (4.3/10).

Tuesday

ABC stood as the No. 1 TV network on Halloween night in Total Viewers (15.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11). ABC marked its 8th consecutive Tuesday as the most-watched TV network.

� On average ABC�s Tuesday night numbers this season have grown by 32% in Total Viewers (15.2 vs. 11.5 million) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (4.3/11 vs. 3.5/9) over the same point last season.

�Dancing with the Stars� (8:00-9:31 p.m.)

ABC's �Dancing with the Stars� delivered another convincing victory in its time period, despite going up against the return of Fox�s �House� to the 9 o�clock hour. �DWTS� beat its nearest competition in its time slot (CBS) by 42% in Total Viewers (20.5 million vs. 14.4 million) and by 47% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/15 vs. 3.6/10). The ABC unscripted series stood as Tuesday�s most-watched TV show for the 8th straight week.

� �Dancing with the Stars� posted strong week-to-week growth across each of the key men demographics: Men 18-34 (+19% - 2.5/8 vs. 2.1/7), Men 18-49 (+10% - 3.3/9 vs. 3.0/8) and Men 25-54 (+8% - 3.9/10 vs. 3.6/9).

�Help Me Help You� (9:31-10:01 p.m.)

ABC�s �Help Me Help You� earned second place in its half-hour across each of the key women demographics: W18-34 (2.5/7), W18-49 (3.7/9) and W25-54 (4.5/10 - tie).

�Boston Legal� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's �Boston Legal� took second place in the 10 o�clock hour, beating its CBS competition (�C.S.I.: NY� repeat special) by 2.4 million viewers (10.4 million vs. 8.0 million) and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/8 vs. 2.5/7).

Wednesday

ABC won its 5th Wednesday in a row among Adults 18-49 (4.7/13). ABC also took top honors on the evening with Adults 18-34 (3.7/11). Between �Dancing with the Stars the Results Show� and �Lost,� ABC captured the No. 1 programs of the evening across the board, including Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34, Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11.

�Dancing with the Stars the Results Show� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Dancing with the Stars the Results Show� took first place during Wednesday's 8 o'clock hour for the 8th week in a row. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., the results show overshadowed second-place CBS' �Jericho� by 9.3 million viewers (19.2 million vs. 9.9 million) and by 60% in Adults 18-49 (4.8/13 vs. 3.0/8). Actress Monique Coleman was the next dancer to be eliminated, as the competition narrowed to three dance pairs. ABC�s broad appealing �DWTS the Results Show� qualified as Wednesday�s most-watched program and also as the No. 1 TV broadcast of the evening with Kids 2-11 (2.9/11).

�Lost� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

�Lost� won its time period and ranked as the No. 1 TV program of the night in Adults 18-49 for the 5th straight week (on each of its telecasts this season), defeating second-place CBS� �Criminal Minds� in the slot by 32% (6.6/16 vs. 5.0/12). The winning advantage for ABC�s �Lost� over CBS� older skewing �Criminal Minds� was 58% with Adults 18-34 (5.7/15 vs. 3.6/10). In fact the difference between the audiences for the ABC and CBS dramas is very clear. Premiere to date, the median age for the �Criminal Minds� viewer is 53.5 years, more than 10 years older than the �Lost� viewer (43.4 years). On average, CBS� �Criminal Minds� gets 58% of its audience from viewers 50+, driving up its Total Viewer count. In contrast, 64% of the audience for �Lost� is under 50.

� For the 5th consecutive week, �Lost� was Wednesday�s No. 1 TV show in each of the key adult demos (AD18-34 � 5.7/15, AD18-49 � 6.6/16 and AD25-54 � 7.5/17) and in Teens 12-17 (3.3/11).

Thursday

ABC won the opening night of the 2006 November Sweep among Adults 18-49, beating out second-place CBS (5.5/14 vs. 5.4/13). ABC also ranked No. 1 on the evening among Adults 18-34 (5.0/14) and Teens 12-17 (2.4/8). ABC has been the top-rated network on Thursday in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic on 6 of 7 weeks this season and the No. 1 net in Adults 18-34 on all 7 weeks.

� It was ABC�s first Adult 18-49 victory on the opening night of a November Sweep in at least 15 years � since at least November 1991, the first sweep period in the Nielsen electronic database. In fact over the last 15 years, there have been only two other occasions where the Net has won any Thursday during any Sweep period � on 2/6/03 and on 5/12/94.

� ABC is up substantially on the opening night of the 2006 November Sweep, gaining 67% in Total Viewers (14.0 million vs. 8.4 million) and 90% in Adults 18-49 (5.5/14 vs. 2.9/8) over the same night last year (11/3/05). ABC generated its largest audience on the opening night of a November Sweep in 13 years and its top Adult 18-49 number in more than 15 years � since November 1993 and since at least November 1991, respectively.

�Ugly Betty� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Ugly Betty� took second place during the opening hour on Thursday in Total Viewers (13.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.4/11), topping NBC�s comedies in the time period on both measures (�My Name is Earl�/�The Office� = 9.1 million & 4.2/11). For its 6th straight telecast (on each of the series� airings), ABC�s �Betty� won its time period among Women 18-34, pacing 16% ahead of second-place CBS� �Survivor� (5.2/14 vs. 4.5/12).

� �Ugly Betty� was up 4% in Total Viewers and 5% among Adults 18-49 from the prior week (13.1 million & 4.2/12 on 10/26/06). The new ABC series posted its strongest Women 18-49 rating (6.3/15) in 4 weeks � since 10/5/06.

� �Betty� boosted ABC�s results in the hour over the same night last year by 5.2 million viewers and by 76% in Adults 18-49 (11/3/05 = 8.4 million & 2.5/7). On average this season, �Ugly Betty� has improved the time slot for the Network by 91% in Total Viewers (14.1 million vs. 7.4 million) and by 88% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/12 vs. 2.4/7) from the same nights last year.

�Grey�s Anatomy� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

ABC's �Grey's Anatomy� outdrew CBS� �C.S.I.� in viewers (21.0 million vs. 20.8 million) to stand as the most-watched TV show on Thursday night. The ABC drama�s advantage over the CBS drama was a very substantial 29% in Adults 18-49 (9.0/21 vs. 7.0/16). �Grey�s� has beaten �C.S.I.� in Adults 18-49 on all 6 occasions where both shows have been in originals this season. �Grey�s� has held the advantage over �C.S.I.� in viewers on 5 of 6 of their original match-ups.

� On all 6 of its original telecasts this season, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� has qualified as Thursday�s No. 1 TV program across each of the adult demographics: AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54.

�Six Degrees� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's freshman �Six Degrees� continued to outperform its CBS freshman drama competition (�Shark�) among Adults 18-34 (3.0/9), as well as among Women 18-34 (4.1/12) and Women 18-49 (4.6/11). �Six Degrees�� advantage over �Shark� was 20% among Adults 18-34 (3.0/9 vs. 2.5/7).

� Since its debut, �Six Degrees� has improved ABC's numbers the hour by 47% in Total Viewers (9.4 million vs. 6.4 million) and by 77% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/10 vs. 2.2/6) over the same nights last season.

Friday

On the first Friday of the November 2006 Sweep, ABC was up by 6% in Total Viewers (7.2 million vs. 6.8 million) and by 9% among Adults 18-49 (2.5/8 vs. 2.3/7), compared to the same night last year (11/4/05).

� ABC took second on the night among Adults 18-34 (2.1/7) with the Network�s strongest performance in the demo in nearly 9 months � since 2/24/06.

�Grey�s Anatomy � FRI 8PM� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC�s encore telecast of �Grey�s Anatomy� scored its highest ratings yet in the hour across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 � 1.9/7, Adults 18-49 � 2.1/7 and Adults 25-54 � 2.4/7.

�20/20 � FRI Special� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

The first hour of ABC News� �20/20: Privilege in America� delivered the Net�s strongest performance in the time slot this season in Adults 18-34 (2.2/7) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8), ranking No. 1 with Adults 18-34 (tied).

�20/20� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the final hour of prime, the second hour of ABC News� �20/20: Privilege in America� drew ABC�s best ratings in the hour this season in each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 � 2.1/8, Adults 18-49 � 2.7/8 (tied) and Adults 25-54 � 3.2/9 (tied).

Sunday

Although CBS carried a high-rated NFL overrun during the opening hour of the night, ABC�s all-entertainment lineup defeated CBS on the night by 4% in Total Viewers (15.5 million vs. 14.9 million) and by 30% in Adults 18-49 (5.6/14 vs. 4.3/11). NBC led the night on both counts with NFL Sunday Night Football. ABC topped Sunday night across each of the women demographics (W18-34 - 6.0/17, W18-49 - 7.5/18 & W25-54 - 8.5/19) and among Kids 2-11 (2.4/9).

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC generated its strongest Sunday performance in 6 weeks, since season premiere Sunday on 9/24/06.

� For the 7th straight week, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� qualified as the No. 1 TV program on Sunday among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. Also for the 7th consecutive Sunday, ABC aired the Top 3 entertainment series on Sunday evening in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, including �Desperate Housewives,� �Brothers & Sisters� and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.�

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

Although it went up against CBS� NFL overrun and NBC�s sports coverage during the 7 o�clock hour, ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� attracted its second-biggest audience (10.5 million) this season. In fact it was the series� second-largest audience since January � since 1/29/06. �AFHV� gained audience throughout the opening hour on Sunday, increasing by 2.5 million viewers (9.3 million to 11.8 million) and by 43% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7 to 3.3/9) from start to finish.

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

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC�s �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� beat out its nearest non-sports competition by 1.3 million viewers (15.3 million vs. 13.0 million � CBS) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13 vs. 4.3/10 � Fox�s �The Simpsons�/�American Dad�). �Home Edition� ranked No. 1 in its time period across the women demos (W18-34 � 5.7/15, W18-49 � 6.8/16 and W25-54 � 7.5/16) and Kids 2-11 (3.9/12). In fact the broad appealing ABC unscripted series was the No. 1 broadcast of the evening with Kids 2-11.

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

Sunday�s No. 1 television program among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� (22.7 million & 9.0/20) topped competition during the 9 o�clock hour among Adults 18-49, including NBC�s �Sunday Night Football� (8.5/20).

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, �Desperate Housewives� produced its strongest numbers in 6 weeks � since its season premiere on 9/24/06. Excluding its season opener and last season�s finale, �Housewives� tallied its best numbers in nearly 9 months � since 2/19/06.

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

ABC�s freshman �Brothers & Sisters� defeated its CBS drama competition during the 10 o�clock hour by 35% among Adults 18-49 (5.4/13 vs. 4.0/10 � �Cold Case�/�Without a Trace�), and led the hour, ahead of NBC�s football coverage across each of the women demographics: W18-34 (5.8/16), W18-49 (7.7/19) and W25-54 (8.8/20).

� �Brothers & Sisters� generated the series� second-strongest numbers ever in Total Viewers (13.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.4/13), behind only its series debut telecast on 9/24/06.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, NTI and NHTI (Live+SD, Most Current), week of 10/30/06, or as dated.





  [november 2006]  
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· 20/20 (ABC)
· AMERICAN DAD (FOX)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· BACHELOR, THE (ABC)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· DEAL OR NO DEAL (CNBC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HELP ME HELP YOU (ABC)
· HOUSE (FOX)
· JERICHO (CBS)
· LOST (ABC)
· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· SHARK (CBS)
· SIMPSONS, THE (FOX)
· SIX DEGREES (ABC)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)
· WHAT ABOUT BRIAN (ABC)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)





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