or


[03/16/09 - 12:49 PM]
ABC Is No. 1 on Sunday for the 5th Week in a Row in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Sunday, March 15.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Sunday, March 15, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Dominating the Night and Claiming the Evening's Top 2 TV Shows, ABC is No. 1 on Sunday for the 5th Week in a Row in Adults 18-49

ABC is Up Over the Prior Week and Over the Same Week Last Year

ABC's "AFV" Leads the 7pm Hour in Adults 18-34 for the 2nd Week in a Row

"Home Edition" Moves ABC Up to No. 1 in the 8 O'clock Hour in Adults 18-49

Sunday's No. 1 TV Program, "Housewives" Towers Over the 9 O'clock Hour in Viewers and Young Adults and Produces the Series' Biggest Audience in 3 Months

Winning its Slot in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Consecutive Week in Adults 18-49, "Brothers & Sisters" Logs its Top Results for a 10pm Telecast Since Early December

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Qualifying as Sunday's No. 1 network in Adults 18-49 for the 5th week a row, ABC (3.5/9) beat its network competition on the night by wide margins, defeating No. 2 CBS by 30% (2.7/7), No. 3 Fox by 59% (2.2/6) and No. 4 NBC by 94% (1.8/5) with its high-profile and well-promoted series debut of "Kings."

� All 4 of ABC's Sunday series were up over the previous Sunday among young adults. The Net also posted solid increases over the same Sunday last year (3/16/08), growing by 1.5 million viewers (10.5 million vs. 9.0 million) and 9% in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 3.2/9).

� "Desperate Housewives" stood as Sunday's No. 1 TV show in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. "Housewives" logged its 16th time in 17 original telecasts this season to stand as the evening's top entertainment series with viewers and young adults. In fact with "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters," respectively, ABC claimed Sunday's Top 2 highest-rated programs in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" earned second place during the 7 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (7.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/7), while taking the No. 1 position in the hour for the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-34 (1.5/6).

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ranked No. 1 in its hour among Adults 18-49 (3.0/8-tie). Surging 22% from start to finish with young adults, the ABC unscripted series outpaced CBS' "Amazing Race XIV" by 6% in the 8:30pm half hour (3.3/9 vs. 3.1/8). "Home Edition" took top honors in its slot with Women 18-49 (3.7/10) for its 4th consecutive airing.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Sunday's No. 1 TV program, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" dominated the 9 o'clock hour, topping its closest competition by 1.5 million viewers (14.4 million vs. 12.9 million � CBS' "Cold Case") and by 56% in Adults 18-49 (5.0/12 vs. 3.2/8 � Fox's "Family Guy"/"American Dad"). "Housewives" nearly tripled the second hour of NBC's highly-promoted 2-hour series debut of "Kings (5.6 million & 1.7/5).

� "Housewives" produced its biggest audience since the beginning of December and its top young adult number since early January � since 12/7/08 and 1/11/09, respectively.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Delivering best-ever lead-in retention (2nd week in a row) of an original "Desperate Housewives," ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" won its time period for the 3rd straight week among Adults 18-49. During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" (3.7/9) defeated NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" by 37% (2.7/7) and CBS' "The Unit" by 37% (2.7/7).

� Exhibiting continued momentum after its 2-hour broadcast at the beginning of March (on 3/1/09), "Brothers & Sisters" was up week to week and generated its best 10 o'clock airing in the past 3 months among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 � since 12/7/08.

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 30% currently, from 23% 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), 3/15/09.





  [march 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· AMAZING RACE, THE (CBS)
· AMERICAN DAD (FOX)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· APPRENTICE, THE (NBC)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· FAMILY GUY (FOX)
· KINGS (NBC)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).

[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.

[05/19/26 - 02:01 PM]
Netflix Viewership Peaks with Nearly 17 Million Global Viewers for MVP MMA's Rousey vs. Carano, Averaging 12.4 Million Viewers Across the Triple Main Event
In the US, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 11.6 million viewers during Rousey vs. Carano.

[05/19/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 11 - "The Roast of Kevin Hart" Heats Up to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
True crime audiences also streamed the second season of "Worst Ex Ever," which rose to the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.1 million views.

[05/19/26 - 07:07 AM]
TNT Sports Posts Its Most-Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Ever
Thursday's Game 5 of the Montreal/Buffalo series averaged 1.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched, Second Round, Game 5 on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/18/26 - 04:03 PM]
"The Rookie" Season 8 Finale Surges to Over 9 Million Total Viewers
Setting new records with its exceptional momentum this season, "The Rookie" finale earned an all-time streaming high for the series based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[05/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late-Night and on Friday Night
"20/20" saw week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 4-week highs in both measures.

[05/14/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Rooster" Capped Off a Standout First Season, Becoming HBO's Most-Watched Comedy Debut in Over 15 Years
The series is averaging 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale reaching 2.2 million viewers in its first three days.

[05/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Home Run! ESPN Scores Most-Consumed College Softball Regular Season on Record
The 2026 campaign featured four of ESPN's eight most-watched regular season games of all-time and delivered a record-high 10 games with more than 500,000 viewers.

[05/13/26 - 10:30 AM]
Viewership for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Presentation on ABC Up 23 Percent Year Over Year
ESPN's presentation of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, May 10, on ABC averaged 2.3 million viewers.

[05/13/26 - 07:56 AM]
ESPN Networks Delivered Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular-Season Game Ever with Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever on May 9
ESPN today announced that the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever matchup on May 9 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game across ESPN networks ever.

[05/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 4 - The Critters of "Swapped" Soar to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The pursuit of justice is action-packed in "Man on Fire," which set the English TV list ablaze at No. 1 with 12.6 million views.

[05/08/26 - 09:18 AM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched MLB Regular Season Start Since 2015
The Yankees/Mariners season opener on March 31 delivered 562,000 viewers and peaked at 735,000, making it the most watched opener on TBS since 2012.

[05/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Strong Month of Sports Propels ESPN Studio Shows to Record Viewership for April
The entire lineup of ESPN studio shows was up 21% overall in viewership over April of 2025 and up 10% year-over-year (YOY) in the coveted Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[05/05/26 - 03:52 PM]
ESPN Networks Aired Its Most Viewed First Round of the Current Rights Deal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
ESPN also delivered three of the top five matchups in the First Round including the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers).