Quick Take for Wednesday, May 13, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Finishes No. 2 to Fox on Wednesday in Adults 18-49, Jumping 54% From the Year-Ago Night and Up on the Evening for 13 Straight Weeks

ABC Posts Top Wednesday in Nearly 4 Months in Viewers and Young Adults

"Lost: A Journey in Time" Clip Show Beats Original Competition in the 8pm Hour

Season Finale of "Lost" Places a Strong Second to "Idol" at 9pm in Adults 18-49, And Moves up to a Dominant No. 1 at 10pm, Beating 2nd-Place "CSI: NY" by 34%

Marking the Series' Strongest Results in 6 Weeks, "Lost" Closer Generates ABC's 3rd-Highest Adult 18-49 Number in the 9-11pm Time Slot This Season

"Lost" Stands as Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Series in Adults 18-49 For its 15th Consecutive Regular Original Telecast This Season

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

ABC finished a strong No. 2 to Fox (with the season's penultimate Wednesday installment of "Idol") on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), outdelivering 3rd-place CBS by 32% (2.8/8) and 4th-place NBC by 147% (1.5/4). With the "Lost" season closer, ABC delivered the No. 1 position on the night among Men 18-34 (3.1/10).

� Surging 54% from the year-ago night in Adults 18-49 (3.7/10 vs. 2.4/6 on 5/14/08), ABC marked its 13th straight Wednesday delivering a year-to-year increase in the key young adult sales demo.

� ABC generated its strongest Wednesday in Total Viewers (8.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/10) in nearly 4 months � since 1/21/09.

"Lost: A Journey in Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Lost: A Journey in Time" clip show held second in the 8:00 p.m. hour among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), besting CBS' original comedies ("Rules of Engagement"/"Old Christine") by 26% (1.9/6) and NBC's original "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" by 100% (1.2/4). The clip show ranked No. 1 in the hour with Men 18-34 (1.7/6-tie).

"Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

On its fifth-season finale, ABC's "Lost" paced a strong second to "American Idol" during the 9 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49, beating out its original CBS drama competition by 26% (4.3/11 vs. 3.4/8 � "Criminal Minds"). Moving up to a dominant No. 1 from 10:00-11:00 p.m., "Lost" (4.3/12) defeated second-place CBS' original "CSI: NY" by 34% (4.3/12 vs. 3.2/8) and NBC's original "Law & Order" by 95% (2.2/6).

� "Lost" registered as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show for its 15th consecutive regular original telecast in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic.

� Despite competing against the penultimate episode of "Idol," "Lost" marked the series' strongest performance since the beginning of April among viewers (9.3 million) and young adults (4.3/11) � since 4/1/09. In addition, Lost generated ABC's 3rd-highest Adult 18-49 rating in the Wednesday 9-11pm time period 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 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Ratings), 5/13/09.