Quick Take for Sunday, March 22, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Finishes in a Virtual Tie for First on Sunday in Adults 18-49 with a "March Madness"-Driven CBS, while Posting Solid Year-to-Year Gains

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" is Sunday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49

Opposite an NCAA Basketball Overrun-Boosted CBS, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" Takes Second in the 7pm Hour in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC's "Home Edition" is Grows Week to Week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Towering Over the 9pm Hour in Viewers and Young Adults, "Housewives" is Up for the 2nd Straight Week with its Most-Watched Episode in Over 3 Months

Winning the 10p Hour Across the Adult Demos, "Brothers & Sisters" Finishes No. 1 in its Slot in Adults 18-49 for the 4th Consecutive Week in Adults 18-49

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

ABC finished in a virtual tie for first-place on Sunday evening in Adults 18-49, pacing within one-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share with CBS (3.4/9 vs. 3.5/9), which received a substantial boost to its prime averages from highly-rated overrun of NCAA Basketball Tournament coverage into the 7 o'clock hour (approx. 50 minutes) leading into big numbers for "60 Minutes" and its well-promoted interview with President Obama. ABC delivered a dominant victory on Sunday across each of the key Women demographics: W18-34 (3.6/10), W18-49 (4.6/12), W25-54 (5.3/13).

� ABC was up over the same Sunday last year (3/23/08) by 1.5 million viewers (10.5 million vs. 9.0 million) and 10% in Adults 18-49 (3.4/9 vs. 3.1/9).

� "Desperate Housewives" registered as Sunday's No. 1 TV show among Adults 18-49. "Housewives" logged its 17th time in 18 original broadcasts this season to qualify as the Sunday's top entertainment series with viewers and young adults.

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

Opposite CBS' "March Madness" overrun/"60 Minutes," ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" took second place during the 7 o'clock hour, leading NBC's third-place "Dateline" by 8% in Total Viewers (7.1 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 27% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.5/5).

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

Building on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. against "60 Minutes," ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" earned a strong second place during its hour among Total Viewers (9.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/8), while ranking No. 1 in the time period with Women 18-34 (3.2/10).

� Despite facing stiffer competition, ABC's "Home Edition" was up from the prior week in both Total Viewers (9.8 million vs. 9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 3.0/8).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:0 p.m.)

Sunday's No. 1 TV program with young adults, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" towered over the 9 o'clock hour, outpacing its closest competitors by 3.1 million viewers (14.7 million vs. 11.6 million � CBS' "Amazing Race"/"Cold Case") and by 48% in Adults 18-49 (4.9/12 vs. 3.3/8 � Fox's "Family Guy"/"American Dad").

� Growing week to week in Total Viewers and key Women (W18-34/W18-49), "Housewives" increased its overall audience for the 2nd straight week, registering the series' most-watched telecast in more than 3 months � since 12/7/08.

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

ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" topped its time period across the key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), delivering the No. 1 position in Adults 18-49 for the 4th week in a row.

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), 3/22/09.