Quick Take for Tuesday, May 20, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

On the Final Tuesday of the TV Season, ABC Turns in its Strongest Performance on the Night in 6 Months with Viewers and Young Adults

In its Sixth-Season Finale, ABC's "DWTS" Overcomes an "Idol"-Driven Fox and CBS' 2-Hour "NCIS" Season Closer to Win its Slot in Viewers and Adults 18-49

Hitting Season-Highs on the Evening, "DWTS Results" Generates ABC's Top Numbers in the 2-Hour Time Period Since November and 2nd Highest This Season

Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

Posting its top numbers on the night in 6 months (since 11/27/07), ABC earned second place to Fox on the final Tuesday of the season in Total Viewers (16.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11).

"Dancing with the Stars Results" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

In its sixth season finale, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" produced season-high numbers on the night and posted a convincing victory its 2-hour time period in both Total Viewers (19.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/15). The show topped all 4 half-hours in Viewers, and after overcoming an "Idol"-fueled "Hell's Kitchen" at 9:30 p.m. in Adults 18-49, ranked No. 1 in each of its final 3 half-hours in the key young adult sales demo. Also worth noting from 9:00-10:00 p.m., "DWTS" topped the second hour of CBS' 2-hour season finale of "NCIS" by 1.4 million viewers (19.1 million vs. 17.7 million). Surging from its lead-in and gaining audience throughout its telecast, the finale grew by 2.4 million viewers (18.7 million to 21.1 million) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 to 5.8/16) Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi won the ABC dance competition this season, becoming just the second woman to win the mirror ball trophy in the show's history.

� Generating top Tuesday numbers of its sixth season, "Dancing with the Stars" attracted ABC's second-highest numbers in the time period this season, its best results since November � since 11/27/07.

� On all 9 of its telecasts on the night during its sixth season, "DWTS" qualified as Tuesday's second-most-watched TV show to "American Idol."

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 jumped from 16% at the same point in 2006-07, up to more than 24% 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 5/20/08.