Quick Take for Tuesday, January 6, 2009 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC's Tuesday Lineup of Premieres Posts the Net's Largest Audience and Highest Adults 18-49 Performance on the Night Since November

"Homeland Security USA" Brings ABC Strong Time Period Improvement at 8pm

In its 8th Season Opener, ABC's Debut of "Scrubs" Outperforms the Show's Final Original Airing on NBC in May by 1.2 Million Viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49

Among Hard-to-Reach Men 18-34, "Scrubs" at 9:30pm Qualifies as Tuesday's No. 1 TV Show and Marks ABC's Best Non-Sports Rating in the Slot in Over 6 Years

ABC News' "Primetime: What Would You Do?" Logs ABC's Best Numbers at 10pm In Viewers and Adults 18-49 in 6 Weeks, While Posting Series' Best-Ever Men Ratings

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

With its Tuesday premiere lineup of "Homeland Security USA", "Scrubs" and "Primetime: What Would You Do?," ABC turned in its strongest performance on the evening in 6 weeks in Total Viewers (7.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/7) - since 11/25/08.

* Compared to the year-ago Tuesday, ABC's numbers jumped by 3.1 million viewers and by 125% in Adults 18-49 (4.1 million & 1.2/3 on 1/8/08).

"Homeland Security USA" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opposite stiff competition from CBS' stalwart "NCIS" and NBC's season premiere of "The Biggest Loser: Couples," ABC's debut telecast of "Homeland Security USA" was a solid upgrade for ABC in the hour. "The Homeland Security USA" debut was also up sharply from the average for "Opportunity Knocks" in the hour earlier this season, improving the slot by nearly 2 million viewers (7.8 million vs. 5.9 million) and by 44% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 1.6/5).

* Despite the competition, the new unscripted series gained overall audience from start to finish (7.7 million to 7.9 million) and grew by 14% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 to 2.5/6).

"Scrubs" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in in a highly competitive slot against CBS' "The Mentalist" and NBC's "The Biggest Loser: Couples," the ABC premiere of "Scrubs" earned second place in Adults 18-34 (3.0/8) and ranked No. 1 with hard-to-reach Men 18-34 (3.2/9). In fact it premiered with ABC's highest Men 18-34 rating in the half-hour with non-sports programming in more than 2 years - since 11/14/06.

* Compared to its final original airing on NBC (5/8/08), ABC's "Scrubs" debut was up by 1.2 million viewers (6.7 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/7 vs. 2.5/7). In addition, it was the series' most-watched telecast since March 17, 2008, surpassing its final 3 original airings on NBC in its Thursday "Must-See TV" comedy lineup at 9pm. On average, of the 28 non-sports series that NBC broadcasts this season, 21 are lower-rated among Adults 18-49 than ABC's debut of "Scrubs."

"Scrubs" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 9:30pm with Adults 18-49 (3.2/8), Adults 18-34 (3.4/9) and Men 18-34 (3.6/10), "Scrubs" held second place in the 9:30pm half-hour in Adults 18-34 and ranked No. 1 in Men 18-34. In fact it stood as Tuesday's No. 1 TV show with Men 18-34. Furthermore, it produced ABC's highest non-sports Men 18-34 rating in the half-hour in well over 6 years - since 9/10/02.

* "Scrubs" was up hugely for ABC in the half-hour over the same night last year with original comedy programming ("Carpoolers"), jumping by 3.2 million viewers (6.6 million vs. 3.4 million) and by 191% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/8 vs. 1.1/3).

"Primetime: What Would You Do?" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Airing against established original dramas on NBC ("Law & Order: SVU") and CBS ("Without a Trace"), ABC News' season premiere of "Primetime: What Would You Do?" ranked No. 2 in the hour among young adults (AD18-49 = 2.7/7 and AD18-34 = 2.3/7) and Teens 12-17 (1.7/7).

* "Primetime: What Would You Do?" pulled in the Net's top numbers in the time slot in 6 weeks in both Total Viewers (7.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/7) - since 11/25/08.

* In its second season premiere the show marked the show's highest-ever ratings across all key Men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

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 29% currently, from 22% at the same point in 2008. 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 (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 1/6/09.