or


[03/27/09 - 11:48 AM]
ABC Is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, March 26.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Thursday, March 26, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Against a Special "Idol" on the Night, ABC is Up Week to Week In Viewers and Young Adults, with its Strongest Thursday in 5 Weeks

ABC Delivers Substantial Increases Over the Same Thursday Last Year

Improving its Time Period for ABC Opposite "Idol," the Series Debut of "In the Motherhood" Upsets NBC's Veteran Comedy "My Name is Earl" at 8pm

Showing Strong Compatibility for ABC at 8:30pm, Against Stiff Competition, Slot Premiere of "Samantha Who?" Marks Impressive Retention of its Lead-in

Thursday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" Grows its Audience For the 2nd Straight Week, Generating its Most-Watched Telecast in 4 Months

Up Week to Week with Highest Non-Crossover Numbers This Season, ABC's "Private Practice" Beats NBC's "ER" in Viewers and Adults 18-49

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

ABC placed No. 2 to an "Idol"-led Fox on Thursday night in Total Viewers (11.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.8/10), outpacing CBS' NCAA Basketball Tournament coverage (Regional Semi-Finals) on both counts.

� Although facing increased competition on the night from Fox's special Thursday edition of "American Idol," ABC grew week to week by +4% in Total Viewers and by +9% in Adults 18-49 (10.6 million and 3.5/10 on 3/19/09). In fact the Net grew its overall Thursday audience for the 2nd consecutive week, delivering its best Thursday in 5 week in viewers and young adults � since 2/19/09.

� The Net's numbers shot up over the same night last year by 5.1 million viewers and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (5.9 million and 1.9/5 on 3/27/08).

"In the Motherhood" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

ABC's series debut of "In the Motherhood" upset "My Name is Earl" at 8:00 p.m., defeating NBC's veteran comedy in both Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 5.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.0/6). The new ABC comedy's biggest advantage over "Earl" came among Women 18-34, where it nearly doubled its NBC comedy competitor with an 86% winning margin (2.6/8 vs. 1.4/4).

� Despite facing "Idol" in the time period this year, with the opener of "Motherhood" ABC was up in the half-hour over the year-ago night (with original programming) by 14% in Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 5.9 million) and by 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.0/6). In fact among Adults 18-49, "Motherhood" generated ABC's highest rating in the time slot in 6 weeks � since 2/12/09.

"Samantha Who?" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Despite facing "Idol" and "March Madness" on its premiere in the half-hour, ABC's "Samantha Who?" proved itself a compatible companion for "In the Motherhood" with impressive retention of its lead-in among Total Viewers (97%) and Adults 18-49 (100%). In fact "Samantha" built on "Motherhood" at 8:30pm to finish as the No. 1 scripted TV program in the half hour in Women 18-49 (3.0/7) and Women 25-54 (3.6/8).

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

Thursday's No. 1 scripted TV program in Total Viewers (15.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.5/13), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" dominated the 9 o'clock hour, beating Fox's "Idol"-driven "Hell's Kitchen." "Grey's" tallied its 13th time in its last 14 original telecasts to stand as Thursday's No. 1 regular entertainment show with Adults 18-49, and the 14th time in as many original airings with Adults 18-34.

� Surging week to week by 1.2 million viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49, "Grey's" turned in its most-watched telecast in 4 months (11/20/08) and its 3rd-biggest audience this season.

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

ABC's "Private Practice" ranked No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour, topping NBC's veteran "ER" in Total Viewers (10.5 million vs. 10.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.8/10 vs. 3.5/9). In fact the ABC sophomore drama has topped "ER" in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 on 8 of 9 head-to-head original telecasts in the time period. "Private Practice" finished as the No. 1 entertainment program in the hour in Adults 18-49 for the 5th time in its last 6 originals, while standing as the top entertainment broadcast with Adults 18-34 on all 10 original airings in slot.

� Growing its overall audience for the 2nd straight week and increasing week to week in young adults, "Private Practice" turned in its highest non-crossover numbers this season.

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 over 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), 3/26/09.





  [march 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· ER (NBC)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HELL'S KITCHEN (FOX)
· IN THE MOTHERHOOD (ABC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· SAMANTHA WHO? (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[07/15/25 - 02:06 PM]
Viewership for 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Exclusively on ESPN Platforms Up Five Percent From Last Year
An average audience of 5,729,000 viewers watched the event, compared to 5,451,000 viewers in 2024.

[07/15/25 - 01:04 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week
"Nightline" posted Total Viewer gains both week to week and year to year.

[07/15/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 7: "KPop Demon Hunters" Spends Another Golden Week at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"The Sandman's" second season entered the Top 10 in 89 countries last week, while claiming the No. 1 spot in English TV with 5.9 million views.

[07/15/25 - 09:04 AM]
ABC Airs Another of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games Ever: Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever Averaged 2.1 Million Viewers, Up 69% from Last Year's ABC Average
Said audience peaked with 2.5 million viewers.

[07/14/25 - 06:08 PM]
"Celebrity Family Feud" Returns with Best Premiere in Three Years
Overall, the season 11 premiere notched the show's best performance for any telecast in Total Viewers (4.16 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.42 rating) since 8/28/22 and 8/13/23, respectively.

[07/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix and MVP's Taylor-Serrano 3 Goes the Distance with Nearly 6 Million Global Viewers
In the US, an estimated AMA of 4.2 million viewers tuned in to the main event (Live+1) according to VideoAmp and Netflix, making it the most-watched professional women's sports event of 2025.

[07/11/25 - 12:45 PM]
ABC Concludes September to May Season with Top Five Shows Among Adults 18-49 Including "High Potential," "Abbott Elementary," "The Rookie," "Shifting Gears" and "9-1-1"
Continuing to lead among broadcast series, ABC's "High Potential" stood as the No. 1 new drama among Total Viewers (16.41 million) and No. 1 new show among Adults 18-49 (3.85 rating).

[07/11/25 - 11:28 AM]
"Big Brother: Summer of Mystery" Premiere Up +10% from Last Summer
Last night, season 27 premiered to nearly 3 million viewers.

[07/09/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
"Nightline" saw gains on the same week last year in Total Viewers (+3% - 663,000 vs. 644,000) and Adults 18-49 (+4% - 96,000 vs. 92,000).

[07/08/25 - 06:05 PM]
ESPN Formula 1 Coverage Enjoying Record-Breaking Season of Viewership
11 of 12 races held so far this season have had year-over-year viewership growth and seven of the 12 have set event viewership records.

[07/08/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 30: "Squid Game" Season 3 Leads Top 10 Globally, Climbs to No. 3 on Most Popular
Plus: "The Waterfront" maintained its Top 10 empire as the No. 1 English show in its third week with 5.6 million views.

[07/08/25 - 06:30 AM]
New AMC/AMC+ Epic Adventure Drama "Nautilus" Surfaces with 2.6 Million Premiere Night Viewers on Linear TV
The highly anticipated series premiered on Sunday, June 29 on AMC and AMC+, with new episodes premiering weekly on Sundays until the thrilling two-episode season finale on August 17.

[07/03/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC News Same-Day Primetime Special "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" Is No. 1 in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Versus the competition in the time period, "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" outperformed NBC by +40% in Adults 18-49 (212,000 vs. 151,000) and +22% in Adults 25-54.

[07/02/25 - 06:44 PM]
Tyler Perry's "Divorced Sistas" Quickly Rises to Become BET+'s Most Watched Original Series in Platform History
Just halfway through the eight-episode season, existing subscribers and new fans of the show have boosted the drama series to the most-watched series premiere on BET+ in just three weeks.

[07/02/25 - 02:38 PM]
Hallmark Channel Earns #1 Most-Watched Network on Weekends Throughout June with "Passport to Love" Programming Event
"Passport to Love" helped elevate Hallmark Channel to be the #1 most-watched network on weekends throughout the month of June.