Quick Take for Monday, October 20, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is Monday's Most-Watched Net for the 5th Consecutive Week, Outdelivering Second-Place CBS by 2.5 Million Viewers

Growing Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, "Dancing with the Stars" Stands as Monday's Most-Watched TV Program for the 5th Week in a Row

"Samantha Who?" Wins its Half-Hour and Beats CBS Comedy Competition in Total Viewers and Key Women Demos

"Boston Legal" Outdraws NBC's "My Own Worst Enemy" in Total Viewers for the 2nd Straight Week and Posts Week-to-Week Gains in Viewers and Adults 18-49

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

For the 5th week running, ABC registered as Monday's most-watched network, outdelivering second-placed CBS by 2.5 million viewers (14.1 million vs. 11.6 million). ABC also took the top spot for the 5th straight week among Women 18-49 (4.5/11) and Women 25-54 (5.8/13).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-9:30 p.m.)

Monday's most-watched program for the 5th time in 5 weeks this season, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" led its time period, towering over runner-up CBS by 7.5 million viewers (18.6 million vs. 11.1 million). "DWTS" also won its time period for the 5th time in as many weeks across each of the key women demos: Women 18-34 (3.6/9), Women 18-49 (5.6/13) and Women 25-54 (7.4/16). "Dancing with the Stars" saw the addition of four new dances to the competition: Hustle, Jitterbug, Salsa and West Coast Swing.

* "Dancing with the Stars" saw its audience grow by 2.2 million viewers (17.3 million to 19.5 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/10 to 4.4/11) from start to finish.

* "Dancing with the Stars" was up week to week in Total Viewers (18.6 million vs. 17.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 vs. 4.0/10).

"Samantha Who?" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Samantha Who?" led its half-hour among Total Viewers (11.0 million), Women 18-49 (4.4/10) and Women 25-54 (5.4/11). "Samantha Who?" outdrew its comedy competition in the time-slot, CBS' "Worst Week" (9.9 million), by 1.1 million viewers, as well as across each of the key women demos: W18-34/W18-49/W25-54.

"Boston Legal" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Boston Legal" outperformed NBC's "My Own Worst Enemy" by 3.3 million viewers (9.0 million vs. 5.7 million) for the 2nd consecutive week. In addition, the ABC drama beat the NBC series among Women 18-49 (3.0/7 vs. 2.3/6) and Adults 25-54 (3.0/7 vs. 2.7/7).

* "Boston Legal" posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (9.0 million vs. 8.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 2.1/5).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 28% currently, from 20% at the same point in 2007. 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.