or


[02/26/08 - 02:00 PM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of February 18, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC spins the numbers for the week of February 18-24.

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of February 18, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

In Viewers and Young Adults, ABC Post its Strongest Results in 12 Weeks

The "Academy Awards" Stands as the Week's Most-Watched TV Show, the No. 1 Entertainment Telecast of the Sweep and as the Season's Top Entertainment Special

ABC's "Lost" is the Week's No. 1 Scripted Program in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Growing Week-to-Week, "Wife Swap" Tops CBS' "Big Brother" on Wednesday at 8pm

ABC's "Supernanny" Takes Second to Fox's Expanded "Idol" Across Key Adult Demos

Thursday's Top Scripted TV Program, "Lost" Surges from its Lead-in to Dominate The Night's 9pm Hour for the Fourth Week in a Row in Viewers and Young Adults

Despite Stiffer Competition in the Time Period This Week from an "Idol"-Fueled Fox, ABC's "Lost" Grows Week to Week in Adults 18-34, Women 18-49 and Women 18-34

During the 10 O'clock Hour, ABC's Freshman "Eli Stone" Continues to Outdraw its Freshman Drama Competition, NBC's "Lipstick Jungle"

Posting its Highest Numbers on the Night in Over 1 Year, ABC News' "20/20" Wins Its Time Slot and Stands as Friday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54

Dominating Sunday with the "Oscars," ABC Tops its Combined Network Competition on the Night by 2.6 Million Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49

"The Barbara Walters Special" and "Oscar's Red Carpet 2008" Are Top Draws in their Respective Time Periods on Sunday Evening

ABC's "Oscars" Attracts a Much Larger Audience than Any Other Awards Show This Season, Including the "Emmys," the "Grammys" and the "Golden Globes"

WEEK No. 22:

ABC took second place to Fox (with five hours of "American Idol") during the week of February 18, 2008 in Total Viewers (9.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.2/8).

� In viewers and young adults, ABC turned in its strongest results in 12 weeks � since w/o 11/26/07.

Rankings: ABC claimed 4 of the week's Top 15 TV programs in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, including the most-watched show overall with the "Academy Awards" and the No. 1 scripted series with "Lost": "Academy Awards � No. 1/No. 3, "Oscar's Red Carpet 2008" � No. 5/No. 5, "Lost" � No. 7/No. 6 and "The Barbara Walters SP-2/24" � No. 13/No. 15. In addition to qualifying as the week's most-watched show, the "Academy Awards" also finished the week as the No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-34. The "Oscars" ranks as the most-watched entertainment telecast of the 2008 February Sweep (second among all shows to only the "Super Bowl") and by far as the No. 1 entertainment special this season. Marking its top Friday numbers in more than 1 year, ABC News' "20/20" stood as the No. 1 newsmagazine of the week in Adults 18-49 for the third consecutive week. "20/20" was also the top newsmagazine for the week in Adults 25-54.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating trends based on the Live + Same Day data stream may be somewhat distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has nearly doubled from 13% at the same point in 2006, up to more than 22.5% currently. 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

"Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)

The season finale of ABC's "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" finished second in its time period in Total Viewers (9.2 million), Women 18-49 (3.4/8), Women 25-54 (4.4/10).

Wednesday

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

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Wife Swap" beat CBS' competing unscripted show in the hour, "Big Brother 9," in both Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 5.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/5 vs. 1.9/5). In addition, the ABC unscripted series was also up over the prior week's performance in both Nielsen measures (5.2 million & 1.8/5 in Adults 18-49 on 2/13/08).

"Supernanny" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

"Supernanny" took second place in the hour across each of the key adult demos: Adults 18-34 (2.0/5), Adults 18-49 (2.3/5) and Adults 25-54 (2.5/5), behind only the second hour of Fox's 2-hour "American Idol" telecast.

Thursday

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

Surging from its lead-in by 8.3 million viewers and by 235% in Adults 18-49 (replay of the previous week's episode = 5.4 million & 1.7/4), ABC's "Lost" moved ABC into a dominant first-place finish in the 9 o'clock hour for the fourth week in a row. Despite Fox's decided lead-in advantage coming into the hour from a special Thursday installment of "American Idol," "Lost" topped second-place Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" in the time slot by 1.3 million viewers (13.7 million vs. 12.4 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (5.7/13 vs. 4.8/11).

� "Lost" ranked as Thursday's No. 1 scripted TV show in Total Viewers and across each of the key adult demographics (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).

� Although the ABC drama faced stiffer demographic competition in the time period from Fox this week, "Lost" grew its audience week-to-week among Adults 18-34 (5.1/13 vs. 5.0/15), Women 18-49 (6.2/14 vs. 6.1/15) and Women 18-34 (5.5/14 vs. 5.1/14).

"Eli Stone" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's freshman "Eli Stone" defeated its freshman drama competition in the 10 o'clock hour, NBC's "Lipstick Jungle," among Total Viewers (7.2 million vs. 5.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.4/6).

Friday

"20/20-SP" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

A Special Edition of ABC News' "20/20" at 9:00 p.m. examining rare medical conditions and cases drew 6.6 million viewers and a 1.8 rating, 5 share in Adults 18-49. The ABC newsmagazine turned in the Net's strongest young adult performance in the hour in 11 weeks - since 12/7/07.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in, the evening's second telecast of ABC News' "20/20," focusing on "Facing Ethical Dilemmas, What Would You Do?," led its time-slot and drew the newsmag's best numbers on the night in Total Viewers (8.7 million) and across each of the key adults demographics (Adults 18-34 - 2.2/7, Adults 18-49 - 2.9/8, and Adults 25-54 - 3.4/9) in over 1 year - since 2/9/07.

� "20/20" stood as Friday's No. 1 program in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

Sunday

With coverage of the "80th Annual Academy Awards," ABC topped its combined network competition on Sunday evening. During primetime, ABC outdrew the other networks combined by 2.6 million viewers (25.8 million vs. 23.2 million � CBS, NBC, Fox and CW) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (8.3/21 vs. 7.5/19 � CBS, NBC, Fox and CW).

"The Barbara Walters Special" (7:00 - 8:00 p.m.)

ABC's telecast of "The Barbara Walters Special" drew an average audience of 11.7 million viewers and delivered a 3.2 rating among Adults 18-49, ranking as the most-watched show in its time period.

"Oscar's Red Carpet 2008" (8:00 - 8:30 p.m.)

With "Oscar's Red Carpet 2008" pre-show, ABC dominated its time period, beating second place Fox in the slot by 10.4 million viewers (21.5 million vs. 11.1 million) and by 54% in Adults 18-49 (6.3/17 vs. 4.1/11).

The "80th Annual Academy Awards" (8:30-11:38 p.m.)

ABC's broadcast of the "80th Annual Academy Awards" attracted an average audience of 32.0 million Total Viewers and posted a 10.7 rating, 26 share among Adults 18-49, based on Nielsen's "fast national" ratings. The "Academy Awards" stood as the most-watched TV show of the week and also as the No. 1 entertainment telecast of the 2008 February Sweep.

� ABC's "80th Annual Academy Awards" (32.0 million) towered over other awards shows this season, including the 2007 "Emmy Awards" (13.0 million), the 2008 "Golden Globes" (6.0 million) and the 2008 "Grammy Awards" (17.2 million).

� ABC's "80th Annual Academy Awards" reached 64.13 million unique television viewers across the U.S. � unduplicated Viewers 2+ watching 6-minutes or more during its telecast.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 2/18/08, unless stated otherwise.





  [february 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· 20/20 (ABC)
· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· BIG BROTHER (CBS)
· DANCE WAR: BRUNO VS. CARRIE ANN (ABC)
· DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS! (FOX)
· ELI STONE (ABC)
· LIPSTICK JUNGLE (NBC)
· LOST (ABC)
· SUPERNANNY (LIFETIME)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.

[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.

[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.

[10/14/25 - 02:50 PM]
ALCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes Draws 5.3 Million Viewers
The Mariners victory over the Blue Jays averaged 5,310,000 viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services.

[10/14/25 - 02:39 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched LDS on FOX/FS1 Since Launch of Postseason Baseball on FS1 in 2014
On Friday, 8,723,000 viewers tuned in for the Mariners' historic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 victory.

[10/14/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" Registers Record Fourth Blockbuster Audience of 25+ Million Viewers This Season, As Lions-Chiefs Averages 27.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
Lions-Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics, marking the second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC "SNF."

[10/14/25 - 01:45 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Return Strong for New Seasons
"Shifting Gears" earned the biggest audience since the show's Valentine's Day episode; while "Abbott Elementary" jumped over the show's season four premiere among Total Viewers as well as the season four average.

[10/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 6: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Rocks the Boat as No. 1 Debut in This Week's Top 10
In the spirit of the season of chills, "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" claimed the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, rising to the top in its second week with 20.7 million views.

[10/10/25 - 03:07 PM]
3,287,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 4 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 4, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +11% from 2024 and +31% over 2023.

[10/10/25 - 09:04 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scores Historic Growth in Week Four
"Dancing with the Stars" rose for the third straight week following its season premiere, for the first time in the show's history, in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[10/09/25 - 05:01 PM]
3,177,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 3 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 3, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +14% from 2024 and +28% over 2023.