ABC 2009 May Sweep / TV Season ratings

ABC Claims 5 of the Top 10 TV Series in Adults 18-49, Winning Every Thursday and Sunday During the Sweep Period

Finishing a Solid No. 2 to Fox in May '09, ABC Claims 5 of the Top 10 TV Series In Adults 18-49, Winning Every Thursday and Sunday During the Sweep Period

Net Airs 4 of the Season's Top 10 TV Shows in Adults 18-49, Including the Top 2 Scripted Series with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy"

ABC Grows its Audience in 2009 Among Total Viewers and Key Young Adults

For the 4th Straight Season, ABC is a Top Destination for Upscale Viewers, Delivering 6 of the Top 15 TV Series Among High-Income Adults 18-49

ABC's Scripted Series Among the Most Recorded and Played Back this Season

2009 May Sweep (4/23-5/20/09 - 28 Nights Complete)

ABC placed a solid No. 2 to an "Idol"-driven Fox in May 2009 among Adults 18-34 (2.5/7) and Adults 18-49 (3.2/9), beating out third-place CBS by 32% and 7%, respectively (CBS = 1.9/6 and 3.0/8).

* Rank by Night: ABC placed a dominant No. 1 on Thursday and Sunday during May in Adults 18-49, beating out second-place CBS on each evening by 17% (4.1/11 vs. 3.5/10) and 21% (3.4/10 vs. 2.8/8), respectively. In fact ABC won each Thursday of the 2009 May Sweep in Adults 18-49, ranking No. 1 on all 12 Thursdays during the sweep month over the past 3 years. Similarly, by winning each Sunday of the 2009 May Sweep, ABC marked its 5th consecutive May to rank No. 1 on each Sunday of the sweep - 20 consecutive May Sundays from 2005-2009. In addition, ABC registered as Monday's most-watched network overall during May, ranking No. 1 on each of the final 12 weeks this season, representing the Net's longest winning streak on the evening in nearly 10 years - since a stretch from 10/18/99 - 1/03/00.

* Top-Rated Series: ABC aired 5 of the Top 10 TV series during May 2009 in Adults 18-49, including the No. 1 scripted series with "Grey's Anatomy": "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 3 (No. 1 scripted), "Desperate Housewives" - No. 6, "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 7, "Lost" No. - 8 and "Private Practice" - No. 10. The Net claimed 4 of the Top 15 most-watched television shows for the sweep: "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 3, "Dancing with the Stars Results" - No. 6, "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 7 and "Desperate Housewives" - No. 11. In addition, "Grey's" qualified as the No. 1 television show in May among Women 18-34.

* Highest-Rated Scripted Telecasts: Between "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," ABC delivered 6 of the Top 10 highest-rated individual scripted telecasts in May among Adults 18-49, including 4 of the Top 5 with installments of "Grey's Anatomy."

* No. 1 10 O'clock Show on Any Net: ABC's "Private Practice" stood as TV's No. 1 10 o'clock series on any night during the May Sweep among Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34.

2008-09 TV Season (9/22/08-5/20/09 - Complete)

On average this season based on "all programming," ABC finished No. 1 among Women 18-49 (3.7/10-tie), while holding the No. 2 position with Adults 18-34 (2.4/7), Women 18-34 (3.1/9) and Women 25-54 (4.3/10). The Net was also the No. 2 broadcaster to Fox this season with Teens 12-17 (1.3/5-tie). It was a tight race for second place among Adults 18-49 (2.9/8), as ABC paced within two-tenths of a rating point and tied in audience share with CBS (3.1/8), while outpacing a "Super Bowl"-boosted NBC (2.8/7).

* ABC Demonstrates Viewer and Young Adult Increases in 2009: ABC's audience grew in 2009 (Jan-May), posting gains in Total Viewers (+2% - 8.7 million vs. 8.5 million) and Adults 18-34 (+9% - (2.4/7 vs. 2.2/6) over the time frame in 2008. The Net held 100% of its Adult 18-49 and Adult 25-54 viewers year to year. Also notable were the inroads that ABC made on Tuesday and Wednesday among young adults, the evenings that Fox schedules "American Idol." On average, ABC's Tuesday concluded up by 4% in Adults 18-49 and its Wednesday results climbed by 25% this year.

* Season's Highest-Rated TV Series: In Adults 18-49, ABC broadcast 4 of the Top 10 series this season, including the Top 2 highest-rated scripted TV shows with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy": "Desperate Housewives" - No. 4 (No. 1 scripted), "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 5 (No. 2 scripted), "Lost" -- No. 9 and "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 10. The Network claimed 4 of the Top 15 most-watched series: "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 3, "DWTS Results" - No. 7, "Desperate Housewives" - No. 9 and "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 12. Between "Grey's" and "Housewives," the Net delivered the Top 2 scripted television programs across each of the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Among Women 18-49, the Net aired 8 of the Top 15 TV series this season, including "Grey's" (No. 3), "Housewives" (No. 4), "DWTS" (No. 5), "The Bachelor" (No. 6), "Brothers & Sisters" (No. 9), "Dancing with the Stars Results" (No. 10), "Private Practice" (No. 14-tie) and "Lost" (No. 14-tie).

* ABC a Strong Draw with Upscale Young Adults: ABC was a strong No. 2 to Fox this season, based on "non-sports programming," with Adults 18-49 in Homes earning $100K+ Annual Income. ABC (3.33 rating) outperformed CBS by +11% (3.00) and NBC by +19% (2.81). ABC was the No. 1 network based on concentration or Index among high-income young adults in the "non sports" numbers (Index of 115-tie). In addition, ABC claimed 6 of the Top 15 highest-rated regular TV series this season among high income young adults, including 3 of the Top 4 scripted series with "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost": "Grey's Anatomy" (7.61 rating) - No. 3 (No. 1 scripted), "Desperate Housewives" (7.46) - No. 4 (No. 2 scripted), "Lost" (6.85) - No. 6 (No. 4 scripted), "The Bachelor" (5.69) - No. 11, "Dancing with the Stars" (5.65) - No. 12 and "Brothers & Sisters" (5.09) - No. 14. ABC also ranked a competitive No. 2 this season in Nielsen's other top "non-sports" upscale ratings, Adults 18-49 with 4+ Years of College and Professionals or Managers earning $100K+ Annual Income. In addition, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "Brothers & Sisters," "Private Practice" and "Lost" ranked among the regular series with the second-highest reported annual median incomes ($73K) on the major nets this season, while "The Bachelor," "Castle," "DWTS" and "DWTS Results" each placed among the top-tier series (tied for third) with annual incomes ($68K) for their respective young adult audiences.

* ABC Series Among the Most Popularly Recorded and Played Back: On average, ABC's primetime delivery grew from the originally reported Live + Same Day numbers to the finalized Live + 7 Day ratings by +6% in Total Viewers (8.4 million to 8.9 million), by +12% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 to 2.9/8) and by +9% in Adults 18-34 (2.2/7 to 2.4/7). ABC series continued to be among the most popularly recorded and played back. Like last season, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" was once again TV's most-played-back show. On average, "Grey's Anatomy" was the biggest actual gainer from the originally-reported numbers (Live + Same Day) to the finalized DVR playback numbers

(Live + 7 Day), generating an additional +2.4 million viewers (15.2 million to 17.6 million). With a sharp jump in DVR penetration year to year (25% to 31%), "Grey's" DVR increase was 14% higher than its average increase last season (+2.1 million viewers in 2007-08). This season ABC had 6 series generating a gain of 1 million viewers or more from their originally-reported numbers to the final DVR playback numbers, including "Grey's Anatomy" (+2.4 million), "Lost" (+1.8 million), "Desperate Housewives" (+1.5 million), "Private Practice" (+1.4 million), "Castle" (+1.1 million) and "Brothers & Sisters" (+1.0 million). Among Adults 18-49, ABC broadcast 11 scripted shows registering ratings increases, jumping from 13% to 23%, from next-day numbers to the DVR finals: "Lost" +23%, "Grey's Anatomy" +21%, "Private Practice" +21%, "Scrubs-WED 8PM" +20%, "Scrubs-TU 9PM" +17%, "Scrubs-TU 9:30PM" +17%, "Ugly Betty" +17%, "Better Off Ted" +17%, "Castle" +17%, "Brothers & Sisters" +14% and "Desperate Housewives" +13%.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, National "Most Current" Program Ratings (9/22/08-5/20/09), unless stated otherwise. January - May 2009 vs. 2008 (1/5-5/20/09 vs. 1/7-5/21/08. Upscale data based on Most Current Ratings for regular non-sports programming (9/22/08-5/17/09). DVR Playback Live + 7 Day based on original telecasts only, (9/22/08-5/3/09).