Quick Take for Monday, May 25, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's Monday Lineup Leads the Night Across All Key Women Demos, Ranking No. 1 in Women 18-49 for the 20th Week in a Row, the Longest Monday Winning Streak in the Key Women Demo for Any Net Since at Least 1991

ABC's "The Bachelorette" Leads it 2-Hour Time Period Across All Key Women and is Up Over its Year-Ago Performance in Viewers and Adults 18-49

Holding Strong Young Adult Lead-in Retention, the Season Premiere of "Here Come the Newlyweds" Tops its Drama Competition at 10pm in Adults 18-34

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

On Memorial Day, ABC's Monday lineup of "The Bachelorette" and "Here Come the Newlyweds" drew 5.7 million viewers and a 2.0/6 in Adults 18-49, finishing in a virtual tie for No. 1 on the night in young adults with CBS (2.1/6). ABC topped its network competition on the night across all key Women demographics (W18-34 - 2.3/7, W18-49 - 2.9/8 and W25-54 - 3.2/8), winning Monday among Women 18-49 for the 20th week in a row. ABC was also the top-rated broadcaster on the evening with Adults 18-34 (1.7/5) and Teens 12-17 (1.0/4).

* Extending its winning run on the night, the Net is seeing the longest winning streak on the evening among Women 18-49 for any net since at least 1991 - predating the start of Nielsen's electronic database.

* ABC was up over the same night last year by 8% in Total Viewers and by 5% in Adults 18-49 (5.3 million & 1.9/5 on 5/26/08).

"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building audience during each its half-hours from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's "The Bachelorette" ranked a strong No. 2 in its 2-hour slot in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) and placed first in each of the Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In fact among its core audience of Women 18-34 (2.4/7), "The Bachelorette" beat out its nearest network rival in its time slot by 60% (1.5/5 - CBS).

* "The Bachelorette" saw increases of 7% in Total Viewers (6.0 million vs. 5.6 million) and 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.0/5) over its year-ago telecast (5/26/09 from 9:00 - 11:00 p.m.).

"Here Come the Newlyweds" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Showing strong retention of its young adult lead-in (90% in AD18-49 and 94% in AD18-34) from "The Bachelorette," ABC's season premiere of "Here Come the Newlyweds" ranked No. 2 in the 10 o'clock hour against its broadcast competition among Adults 18-49 (1.9/5-tie) and delivered the No. 1 position among Women 18-34 (2.3/7) and Women 18-49 (2.7/7-tie). In addition, the ABC unscripted series led its veteran drama competition in the hour by wide margins among Adults 18-34 (1.6/5), topping NBC's original "Medium" by 33% (1.2/4) and CBS' "CSI: Miami" replay by 23% (1.3/4).

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 Day Program Ratings), 5/25/09.