Quick Take for Thursday, February 5, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Dominates Thursday in Viewers and Young Adults, Logging its Highest Ratings on the Night Since Season-Premiere Thursday in September

In a Highly Successful Crossover Event Between the Programs, ABC's "Grey's" and "Private Practice" Stand as Thursday's Top 2 TV Shows in Viewers and Young Adults

"Ugly Betty" Leads 8pm in Women 18-34 with its Best Number in 9 Weeks, And Is the No. 1 Series in its Slot for the 12th Time in its 13 Originals This Season

Posting its Highest Rating in 11 Weeks, "Grey's" Overshadows the 9 O'clock Hour

Demonstrating the Best-Ever Retention for Any Show to Follow "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice" Achieves Series Highs and Takes Full Control of the 10pm Hour

In Viewers and Young Adults, "Private Practice" Generates ABC's Top Numbers With Regularly Scheduled Series Programming in the Time Slot in Close to 2 Years

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

ABC turned in a dominant first-place victory on Thursday evening, winning the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC beat out its closest Thursday competition (Fox) by 2.6 million viewers (11.8 million vs. 9.2 million) and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/12 vs. 3.3/9).

� Across the key Adults demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), the Net posted its highest ratings on the night since season-premiere Thursday in September � since 9/25/08.

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

ABC's "Ugly Betty" earned second place in the 8 o'clock hour among Total Viewers (7.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/7). "Betty" ranked a definitive No. 1 among its core audience of Women 18-34, leading its closest competitor by 18% (3.3/10 vs. 2.8/9 - Fox). In fact the show hit its best Women 18-34 number in 9 weeks (12/4/08), and marked its 12th time in its 13 original telecasts this season as the No. 1 series in the time period with young women.

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

Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" towered above its nearest competition in the 9 o'clock hour by 3.5 million viewers (15.2 million vs. 11.7 million - CBS) and by 57% in Adults 18-49 (5.8/14 vs. 3.7/9 - NBC). It was "Grey's" 8th time in the last 9 original telecasts to rank as Thursday's No. 1 entertainment show in Adults 18-49 and the 8th time in as many telecasts in Adults 18-34.

� "Grey's" marked its highest Adult 18-49 rating in 11 weeks and largest overall audience since early December � since 11/20/08 and since 12/4/08, respectively.

"Private Practice" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

The No. 2 TV show of the night to "Grey's," "Private Practice" soared to the top of the 10 o'clock hour, beating the second-place networks by 4.8 million viewers (13.0 million vs. 8.2 million � CBS) and by 96% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/14 vs. 2.7/7 - NBC). Beating its NBC drama competition by its widest margins yet, it was the 4th consecutive time that an original "Private Practice" has defeated an original "ER" in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In addition, the ABC sophomore drama logged its 5th week in a row as the No. 1 entertainment show in its slot in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

� Posting season highs for the 2nd time in 3 telecasts, "Private Practice" also achieved the series' highest ratings ever in Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34, while drawing the series' second-largest-ever Total Viewer count.

� "Private Practice" demonstrated the best-ever retention for any telecast to ever follow "Grey's Anatomy," retaining 86% in Viewers, 91% in Adults 18-49 and 95% in Adults 18-34.

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Private Practice" generated ABC's top numbers with regularly scheduled series programming in the time period in close to 2 years � since 3/15/07.

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 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 2/5/09.