or


[12/05/08 - 10:46 AM]
ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, December 4.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Thursday, December 4, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49, Drawing its Largest Audience and Highest Young Adult Performance on the Night Since Premiere Thursday

"Ugly Betty" Beats NBC's Comedies in the 8pm Hour by 3.0 Million Viewers, Ranking No. 1 in Adults 18-34 and Winning in Women 18-34 for the 10th Straight Telecast

"Grey's Anatomy" Stands as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 for the 5th Consecutive Airing, Beating CBS' "C.S.I." by 20% in the Key Young Adult Demo

"Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" Wins its Hour in Viewers and Across All Key Adult Demos, Attracting its Biggest Audience Since 2004

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

ABC registered its strongest performance on the night in both Total Viewers (12.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11) since premiere Thursday 10 weeks ago � since 9/25/08. ABC won the night in the key young adult sales demo. ABC also led the night in Adults 18-34 (3.9/12) for the 4th time in the past 5 weeks with a best-since-premiere-Thursday performance.

"Ugly Betty" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Ugly Betty" took second place in the 8 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (8.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/7), topping NBC's comedies in the time period for the 8th straight head-to-head airing, by 3.0 million viewers ("My Name is Earl"/"Kath & Kim" = 5.5 million). "Betty" ranked No. 1 in the hour with Adults 18-34 (2.3/8) for the 2nd telecast in a row. The comedy dominated its slot in Women 18-34, beating CBS' "Survivor: Gabon" by 44% (3.6/11 vs. 2.5/8). In fact the ABC series marked its 10th consecutive telecast this season as the No. 1 TV show in the hour in Women 18-34.

� "Ugly Betty" was up over its most-recent telecast in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (8.3 million and a 2.5/7 on 11/20/08), delivering its best numbers in 4 weeks � since 11/06/08.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

For the 5th telecast in a row and the 6th time in the last 7 airings, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo. The ABC medical drama defeated CBS' drama competition in the 9 o'clock hour, "C.S.I.," by 20% in Adults 18-49 (5.5/14 vs. 4.6/11) and by a best-of-season margin of 107% in Adults 18-34 (5.6/15 vs. 2.7/7). "Grey's" qualified as the night's No. 1 show with Adults 18-34 for the 6th time in 7 telecasts.

"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In the final hour of primetime, ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" won its time period in Total Viewers (13.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/12), outperforming the second place networks by 2.3 million viewers (10.9 million � CBS' "Eleventh Hour") and by 31% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 � NBC's "ER"). The annual special also led the hour among Adults 18-34 (3.9/12) and Adults 25-54 (4.8/12). President-elect Barack Obama was named the most fascinating person of 2008.

� ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" was up by almost 2.0 million viewers over the 2007 edition (11.3 million on 12/06/07). In fact, it was the special's largest audience in 4 years (since 2004) and second-largest in nearly 10 years (since 1999).

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 21% 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 12/4/08.





  [december 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· ELEVENTH HOUR (CBS)
· ER (NBC)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· KATH & KIM (NBC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[02/02/26 - 10:38 AM]
New Year, New Viewership Milestones for ESPN: Signature Events Deliver Second-Best Month in 30 Years
Continuing ESPN's landmark viewership success to start the year, January 2025 and 2026 now account for two of the top three most-watched months in the platform's history.

[01/30/26 - 10:11 AM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board Versus CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted across-the-board gains week to week: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 9-week highs in both key Adult demos.

[01/30/26 - 06:20 AM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" was also up year to year in Total Viewers for the week of January 19.

[01/28/26 - 06:36 AM]
FOX Scores 46 Million Viewers for NFC Championship Between NFC West Rivals
The Seahawks are soaring to the Super Bowl.

[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
AFC Championship Game Is This Year's Most-Watched NFL Postseason Game as "NFL on CBS" Caps Off Record-Setting Season
Patriots-Broncos averaged 48,618,000 viewers and peaked with 57,759,000.

[01/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 19 - "The Rip" Is Right on the Money at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Audiences kept the suspense going as they streamed the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers," putting the series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.2 million views.

[01/26/26 - 04:13 PM]
BET's "Tyler Perry's Sistas" Milestone Season 10 Premiere Garners 1 Million Viewers
The Season 10 premiere delivered a notable lift for BET, posting its strongest performance in nearly six months and improving by double digits versus the prior season launch.

[01/26/26 - 01:23 PM]
UFC Delivers Historic Night in Paramount+ Debut
UFC 324 on Saturday, January 24 delivered nearly five million streaming views and over seven million households, the platform's largest exclusive live event to date.

[01/23/26 - 12:44 PM]
"20/20" Improves on the Previous Week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Hitting an 8-Week High in the Key Adult News Demo
"20/20" ranked No. 1 in its two-hour time period in Adults 25-54.

[01/23/26 - 12:28 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" posted double-digit increases week to week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[01/23/26 - 10:31 AM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Closes Out Historic Season with 2.6 Million Viewers Highlighting Hurricanes and Hoosiers
The six postseason GameDay shows delivered 2.4 million average viewers, up 30 percent year-over-year.

[01/23/26 - 07:37 AM]
Historic Back-to-Back Stretch: ESPN Delivers Its No. 1 and No. 8 Most-Watched Events Ever on Consecutive Days
Across Sunday and Monday, fans consumed 18.7 billion total minutes across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2 - a 28% increase from last season's Divisional Round game and Championship Monday on the same networks.

[01/22/26 - 03:39 PM]
Special Premiere of "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Is the Season's Most-Watched Comedy Episode
The series drew 5.8 million viewers and a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo in its special premiere that aired Sunday, January 18.

[01/22/26 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN's MegaCast of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Delivers 30.1 Million Viewers - The Most-Viewed College Football Game in 11 Years
The game scored 30.1 million viewers, the most-watched college football game since the inaugural CFP National Championship (33.9 million viewers, Oregon/Ohio State, 2014-15) and the second most-watched National Championship of the CFP era.

[01/22/26 - 12:48 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Score with Stellar Midseason Premieres
"Shifting Gears" and "Abbott Elementary" are among top scripted shows of the week in adults 18-49.