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[04/28/09 - 12:37 PM]
ABC Airs 6 of the Week's Top 20 TV Shows
ABC spins the numbers for the week of April 20-26.

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of April 20, 2009 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

With its Most-Competitive Adult 18-49 Performance in 8 Weeks, ABC Airs 6 of the Week's Top 20 TV Shows, Including the Top 2 Scripted

ABC Claims 4 of the Top 8 Most-Watched TV Shows of the Week, With "DWTS,""DWTS Results," "Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy"

ABC Wins Monday in Total Viewers and Across All Key Adults Demos, Standing as the Most-Watched Net on Monday for the 8th Straight Week

"DWTS" Qualifies as Monday's No. 1 TV Program in Viewers and Across All Key Adult Demos, Attracting its Second-Biggest Audience this Season

ABC's "Surviving Suburbia" is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-34

Up Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC's Freshman "Castle" Tops NBC's Veteran "Medium" in Monday's 10pm Hour by 11% in Viewers

Leading Tuesday's 9pm Hour by 3.0 Million Viewers, ABC's "DWTS Results" Registers as the Evening's Second-Most-Watched TV Show to Fox's "Idol"

For the 3rd Straight Week, "Scrubs" is No. 1 Wednesday at 8pm in Men 18-34

"Lost" Clip Show is No. 2 to "Idol" in Wednesday's 9pm Hour in Key Adults

ABC Wins the Opening Night of the �09 May Sweep in Young Adults and Key Women, Finishing No. 1 with Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Straight Year

On its First Original Airing in 4 Weeks, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" Returns As Thursday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49, Overshadowing "CSI" by 35%

Winning its Slot on its Return to Original in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's "Private Practice" Towers Over NBC's "Southland" and CBS' "Harper's Island"

ABC News' "20/20" Wins its 2-Hour Time Period on Friday in Adults 18-49, Beating NBC's "Dateline" by Wide Margins in Head-to-Head Competition

Hitting a 5-Week Sunday High, ABC Wins its 2nd Straight Week in Adults 18-49

For the 2nd Straight Sunday, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Finishes as The Night's No. 1 TV Show Among Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"AFV" Dominates Sunday at 7pm in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Week in a Row

The Most-Watched TV Show in Sunday's 10pm Hour, "Brothers & Sisters" Is No. 1 in its Slot in Adults 18-34 for its 5th Consecutive Original Broadcast

WEEK No. 31:

During the week of April 20, 2009 which included the opening nights of the 2009 May Sweep, ABC won 3 nights in Adults 18-49 (Mon/Thurs/Sun) and earned second place to mark its most competitive finish in 8 weeks (since w/o 2/23/09). ABC ranked No. 2 to Fox during the week across the key Adult demos (AD18-34 = 2.0/6, AD18-49 = 2.4/7 and AD25-54 = 3.0/8-tie) and delivered the No. 1 position with Women 18-49 (3.3/9) and Women 25-54 (3.8/10-tie).

� In Total Viewers (8.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), ABC turned in its best numbers in 4 weeks � since w/o 3/23/09.

Rankings: ABC claimed 6 of the Top 20 TV shows during the week in Adults 18-49, placing 3 of the Top 4 highest-rated shows and the Top 2 scripted series: "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 3 (No. 1 scripted), "Desperate Housewives" (No. 2 scripted) and "Dancing with the Stars" tied at No. 4, "Private Practice" � No. 15, "DWTS Results" � No. 16 and "Brothers & Sisters" � No. 19. ABC's "Lost" aired as a clip-show on Wednesday. The Net aired 4 of the Top 8 most-watched television programs overall: "DWTS" � No. 3, "DWTS Results" � No. 4, "Desperate Housewives" � No. 7 and "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 8. On its first original airing in 4 weeks, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" emerged as the No. 2 TV show with Women 18-34, topping Fox's "American Idol-Tuesday." ABC News' "20/20" stood as the No. 1 newsmagazine of the week with Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 (tie).

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 31% currently, from 24% 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.

Monday

ABC won Monday night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, beating the second-place networks by 5.3 million viewers (14.8 million vs. 9.5 million - Fox) and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 3.0/8 - CBS). ABC also led the night in Adults 18-34 (2.6/7) and Adults 25-54 (4.6/11), while standing as the most-watched network on Monday for 8 weeks running.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-9:32 p.m.)

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" won its time period and qualified as Monday's No. 1 program in Total Viewers (20.5 million) and across all key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (3.4/10), Adults 18-49 (4.7/12) and Adults 25-54 (6.1/14). "DWTS" has led its time-slot in all 7 of its telecasts this season in Total Viewers, while winning its time period in 6 of 7 airings in Adults 18-49.

� Attracting its 2nd-largest audience of the season, "DWTS" registered its most-watched telecast in 5 weeks and its highest rated among Adults 18-49 in 3 weeks � since 3/16/09 and 3/30/09, respectively.

"Surviving Suburbia" (9:32-10:02 p.m.)

ABC's "Surviving Suburbia" saw week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (9.9 million vs. 9.7 million) and in Adults 18-34 (1.9/5 vs. 1.8/5).

"Castle" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Castle" was up over the previous week by 12% in Total Viewers (8.2 million vs. 7.3 million) and by 11% Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.9/5). The freshman drama finished second in the 10 o'clock hour, topping NBC's veteran drama, "Medium," by 11% in Total Viewers (8.2 million vs. 7.4 million).

Tuesday

"Dancing with the Stars Results" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Ranking as the second-most-watched TV show on the night behind Fox's "American Idol-Tuesday," ABC's "Dancing with the Stars Results" won the 9 o'clock hour for the 2nd week in a row in Total Viewers (14.7 million), beating CBS' "NCIS-special" by 3.0 million viewers (12.7 million), NBC's "Biggest Loser: Couples" by 5.5 million viewers (10.2 million) and Fox's "Idol-"boosted "Fringe" by 5.8 million viewers (9.9 million). Professional football player Lawrence Taylor was the seventh celebrity dancer eliminated from the competition this season.

Wednesday

"Scrubs" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

ABC's "Scrubs" held the No. 2 position in its time period across each of the key Adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (1.9/7), Adults 18-49 (1.9/6) and Adults 25-54 (2.0/6). In addition, the comedy ranked No. 1 in the half-hour with Men 18-34 (1.8/7) and Men 18-49 (1.8/6). In fact, "Scrubs" finished No. 1 in the time-slot for the 3rd week in a row with hard-to-reach Men 18-34, and for the 4th time in 6 telecasts.

"Better Off Ted" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's freshman "Better Off Ted" finished second at 8:30 p.m. in Men 18-49 (1.8/5) and 25-54 (1.9/5).

"Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in opposite Fox's "American Idol" in the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's clip-show "Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6" took second in the 9 o'clock hour across all key Adults demographics: Adults 18-34 (2.5/7), Adults 18-49 (2.9/7) and Adults 25-54 (3.3/10).

Thursday

Despite airing a repeat in the first hour on Thursday, ABC won the opening night of the 2009 May Sweep among young Adults (AD18-34 � 3.1/10 and AD18-49 � 3.3/9) and across each of the key Women demos: W18-34 (4.9/14), W18-49 (5.0/13) and W25-54 (5.4/13). It was ABC's 3rd consecutive year to rank No. 1 on the opening night of the May Sweep in the key young adult sales demo.

"Grey's Anatomy" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Gaining 1.0 million viewers from start to finish (4.5 million to 5.5 million), ABC's repeat telecast of "Grey's Anatomy" outdrew NBC's original of "Parks and Recreation" at 8:30 p.m. (5.5 million vs. 5.3 million). In fact, the replay "Grey's" won the 8:30pm half-hour in Women 18-34 (2.9/9), outrunning CBS' time period veteran "Survivor" (2.5/8).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Returning to original for the first time in a month (since 3/26/09), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" qualified as Thursday's definitive No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (5.0/13). The ABC medical drama overshadowed the 9 o'clock hour, beating CBS' "CSI" by a best-of-season 35% (3.7/9), NBC's original comedies ("The Office"/"30 Rock") by 43% (3.5/9) and Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" by 67% (3.0/8).

� "Grey's" marked its 14th time in its last 15 original telecasts to stand as Thursday's No. 1 regular entertainment show with Adults 18-49, including 8 consecutive original broadcasts.

"Private Practice" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

On its first original airing in 4 weeks (since 3/26/09), ABC's "Private Practice" won the 10 o'clock hour, dominating original dramas on NBC and CBS in Total Viewers (9.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/10). In the hour, the ABC drama outdelivered runner-up NBC's "Southland" by 1.0 million viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (8.1 million and 2.4/7), while topping third-place CBS' "Harper's Island" by 2.1 million viewers and by 74% in Adults 18-49 (7.0 million and 1.9/6).

� "Private Practice" finished as the No. 1 entertainment TV show in the hour in Adults 18-49 for the 6th time in its last 7 originals, while standing as the top entertainment broadcast with Adults 18-34 on all 11 original airings in time slot.

Friday

"Wife Swap" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

In the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's "Wife Swap" (3.8 million & 1.3/5 in Adults 18-49) topped back-to-back original episodes of NBC's "Howie Do It" (3.1 million & 0.9/3) and Fox's "Prison Break" (3.1 million & 1.0/4).

"20/20" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News' 2-hour "20/20," featuring the "Black Widow" murder trial, drew 6.6 million viewers and a 1.8 rating, 6 share in Adults 18-49, posting the Net's strongest numbers in the two-hour time period in 4 weeks - since 3/27/09. The ABC newsmagazine finished No. 1 in its time slot among Adults 18-49, as well as Women 18-49 (2.5/8) and Women 25-54 (3.2/9).

� Head to head from 9:00 � 11:00 p.m., ABC's "20/20" outperformed NBC's 2-hour "Dateline" by 1.8 million viewers (6.6 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 vs. 1.3/4).

Sunday

ABC delivered another convincing Sunday win among Adults 18-49 (3.2/9), finishing No. 1 on the night for the 2nd straight week, pacing 45% ahead of the second-place networks (2.2/6 � CBS and Fox tied) and topping fourth-place NBC by 60% (2.0/6).

� For the 2nd consecutive week, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" finished as Sunday's No. 1 TV show in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. "Housewives" marked its 19th time in 20 original airings this season to stand as Sunday's No. 1 entertainment series with viewers and young adults.

� Growing its Sunday numbers for the 3rd straight week, ABC drew its biggest audience (9.9 million) and top Adult 18-49 rating (3.2/9) on the evening in 5 weeks � since 3/22/09.

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

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" placed a definitive No. 1 for the 2nd week in a row during the 7 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (2.3/8), outrunning No. 2 CBS by 53% (1.5/5 � "60 Minutes"), No. 3 Fox by 92% (1.2/4 � "American Dad"/"King of the Hill") and No. 4 NBC by 130% (1.0/3 � "Dateline").

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

ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" took a solid second place in the 8 o'clock hour with Total Viewers (8.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8), posting its strongest time-period results in 4 weeks on both counts � since 3/29/09. The ABC unscripted series ranked No. 1 in its time period with Women 18-34 (2.7/9) for its 4th consecutive original telecast and for the 7th time in its last 8 originals.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

The dominant No. 1 TV show on Sunday, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" overshadowed the 9 o'clock competition, outpacing its closest competitors by 3.0 million viewers (13.6 million vs. 10.6 million � CBS' "Cold Case") and by 62% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 vs. 2.9/7 � Fox's originals of "Family Guy"/"American Dad").

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

The most-watched TV show in the 10 o�clock hour, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" topped its CBS drama competition in the slot ("The Unit") by 6% in Viewers (9.3 million vs. 8.8 million) and by 55% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 2.0/5). In addition, the ABC drama placed No. 1 in its time period with Adults 18-34 (2.4/7) for its 5th consecutive original telecast.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 4/20/09, unless stated otherwise.





  [april 2009]  
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· 20/20 (ABC)
· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· AMERICAN DAD (FOX)
· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· BETTER OFF TED (ABC)
· BIGGEST LOSER, THE (USA)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· CASTLE (ABC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· DATELINE NBC (NBC)
· DATELINE NBC (NBC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· FAMILY GUY (FOX)
· FRINGE (FOX)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HARPER'S ISLAND (CBS)
· HELL'S KITCHEN (FOX)
· HOWIE DO IT (NBC)
· KING OF THE HILL (HULU)
· LOST (ABC)
· MEDIUM (CBS)
· NCIS (CBS)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· PRISON BREAK (FOX)
· PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SOUTHLAND (TNT)
· SURVIVING SUBURBIA (ABC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)





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