or


[10/08/09 - 10:09 AM]
ABC's Freshman Comedy Block Finishes No. 1 from 8-10pm in Adults 18-34
ABC spins the numbers for Wednesday, October 7.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Wednesday, October 7, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Ratings)

Improving the Time Period Year to Year in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's Freshman Comedy Block Finishes No. 1 from 8-10pm in Adults 18-34

At 8pm, ABC's Freshman "Hank" Draws More Viewers than Fox's "Dance"

Jumping from its Adult 18-49 Lead-in at 8:30pm, "The Middle" Outdraws Fox's "Dance" in Viewers and Beats its Comedy Competition in Adults 18-34

Finishing as the No. 2 TV Show of the Night in Adults 18-49 to CBS' Veteran "Criminal Minds," ABC's "Modern Family" Hits a Series High with Men 18-34

Continuing to Deliver Strong Lead-in Retention, "Cougar Town" Improves its Slot Year to Year for ABC by 15% in Adults 18-49

"Eastwick" Beats "Leno" at 10pm for the 3rd Straight Week in Adults 18-49 And Places No. 1 with Women 18-34 for its 2nd Consecutive Telecast

Wednesday Night Freshman Comedy Block (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's all-freshman 8:00-10:00 p.m. comedy block continued to deliver impressive compatibility, growing by over 1 million viewers (6.7 million to 7.8 million) and by 94% in Adults 18-49 from start to finish (1.6/5 to 3.1/8) against strong established competition on the other nets.

� Up for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's Wednesday comedy block improved the time period year to year by 14% in Total Viewers (7.4 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.3/7) over the Net's performance in the 2-hour time period on the same night last year.

� ABC's comedy block finished No. 2 in the time period among Adults 18-34 (2.0/6) to Fox ("Dance"/"Glee"), leading NBC by 11% ("Mercy"/"L&O: SVU" = 1.8/6) and CBS by 25% ("Old Christine"/"Gary Unmarried"/"Criminal Minds" = 1.6/5)

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

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's freshman comedy "Hank" outdrew Fox's time-period regular "So You Think You Can Dance" by 14% in Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 5.9 million). "Hank" took second place in the half-hour with Men 25-54 (1.9/5).

"The Middle" (8:30-9:30 p.m.)

Jumping from its Adult 18-49 lead-in by 31% (2.1/6 vs. 1.6/5) at 8:30 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" drew a larger overall audience than Fox's "Dance" (6.8 million vs. 6.4 million), beat its comedy competition in the half-hour (CBS' "Gary Unmarried") by 8% among Adults 18-34 (1.4/6 vs. 1.3/4) and finished in a near-tie among Adult 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.2/6). "The Middle" retained a solid 81% of its week-earlier series debut in Adults 18-49.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. by 1.7 million viewers (8.5 million vs. 6.8 million) and by 52% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 vs. 2.1/6), ABC's "Modern Family" placed No. 2 in its half-hour to CBS' veteran "Criminal Minds" on both counts. Hitting a series-high in Men 18-34 (2.6/8 � despite competing against MLB Playoff Baseball on cable), "Modern Family" earned the No. 1 position in its half-hour against its broadcast competitors, beating Fox's "Glee" by 18% (2.2/7), NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" by 44% (1.8/6) and CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 63% (1.6/5).

� The new ABC comedy qualified as the No. 2 TV show on Wednesday in Adults 18-49, trailing only "Criminal Minds."

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:30 p.m., ABC's "Cougar Town" retained 97% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in, 100% in both Adults 25-54 and Women 18-49, and built on "Modern Family" with Women 25-54. ABC's "Cougar Town" beat out its broadcast competitors in the time period among Men 18-34 (2.1/6) for the 2nd time in 3 telecasts.

� Versus the year-ago night, "Cougar Town" boosted its half-hour for ABC by 15% over an original Private Practice" (3.1/8 vs. 2.7/7).

"Eastwick" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite CBS' time-period veteran "CSI: NY," ABC's freshman "Eastwick" earned second place in the 10 o'clock hour, defeating NBC's "Jay Leno" for the 3rd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5).

� "Eastwick" placed No. 1 in its hour with Women 18-34 (2.0/6-tie) for its 2nd consecutive telecast.

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 33% currently, from 27% 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), 10/7/09.

Quick Take for Wednesday, October 7, 2009 (National Live + Same Program Ratings)

Improving the Time Period Year to Year in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's Freshman Comedy Block Finishes No. 2 from 8-10pm in Adults 18-34

At 8pm, ABC's Freshman "Hank" Draws More Viewers than Fox's "Dance"

Jumping from its Adult 18-49 Lead-in at 8:30pm, "The Middle" Outdraws Fox's "Dance" in Viewers and Beats its Comedy Competition in Adults 18-34

Finishing as the No. 2 TV Show of the Night in Adults 18-49 to CBS' Veteran "Criminal Minds," ABC's "Modern Family" Hits a Series High with Men 18-34

Continuing to Deliver Strong Lead-in Retention, "Cougar Town" Improves its Slot Year to Year for ABC by 19% in Adults 18-49

"Eastwick" Beats "Leno" at 10pm for the 3rd Straight Week in Adults 18-49

Please Note: MLB Playoff coverage on cable was a significant competitive factor week to week for ABC and the other broadcast nets, with the post-season baseball games featuring teams from the Top 2 U.S. markets (including NY Yankees and LA Dodgers) boosting TBS's primetime numbers by 5.4 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 1.6 million) and by 317% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 0.6/2) over the previous Wednesday.

Wednesday Night Freshman Comedy Block (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's all-freshman 8:00-10:00 p.m. comedy block continued to deliver impressive compatibility, growing by 1.3 million viewers (6.5 million to 7.8 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 to 3.2/8) from start to finish against strong established competition on the other networks and MLB Playoffs on cable.

� Up for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's Wednesday comedy block improved the time period year to year by 1.0 million viewers (7.5 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 vs. 2.3/7) over the Net's performance in the 2-hour time period on the same night last year.

� ABC's comedy block finished as the No. 2 broadcaster in the time period among Adults 18-34 (2.1/6) to Fox ("Dance"/"Glee"), leading NBC by 17% ("Mercy"/"L&O: SVU" = 1.8/6) and CBS by 24% ("Old Christine"/"Gary Unmarried"/"Criminal Minds" = 1.7/5)

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

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's freshman comedy "Hank" outdrew Fox's time-period regular "So You Think You Can Dance" by 8% in Total Viewers (6.5 million vs. 6.0 million). "Hank" took second place in the half-hour among the broadcast nets with Men 25-54 (1.8/5).

"The Middle" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Jumping from its Adult 18-49 lead-in by 31% (2.1/6 vs. 1.6/5) at 8:30 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" drew a larger overall audience than Fox's "Dance" (6.8 million vs. 6.5 million), beat its comedy competition in the half-hour (CBS' "Gary Unmarried") by 15% among Adults 18-34 (1.5/6 vs. 1.3/4) and finished in a near-tie among Adult 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.2/6). "The Middle" retained a solid 81% of its week-earlier series debut in Adults 18-49.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. by 2.0 million viewers (8.8 million vs. 6.8 million) and by 62% in Adults 18-49 (3.4/9 vs. 2.1/6), ABC's "Modern Family" placed No. 2 in its half-hour to CBS' veteran "Criminal Minds" on both counts. Hitting a series-high in Men 18-34 (2.6/8 � despite competing against MLB Playoff Baseball on cable), "Modern Family" earned the No. 1 position in its half-hour against its broadcast competitors, beating Fox's "Glee" by 18% (2.2/7), NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" by 53% (1.7/5) and CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 53% (1.7/5).

� The new ABC comedy qualified as the No. 2 TV show on Wednesday in Adults 18-49, trailing only "Criminal Minds."

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:30 p.m., ABC's "Cougar Town" retained 94% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in from "Modern Family," boosting its half-hour for ABC by 19% over an original Private Practice" on the year-ago night (3.2/8 vs. 2.7/7).

"Eastwick" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite CBS' time-period veteran "CSI: NY," ABC's freshman "Eastwick" earned second place in the 10 o'clock hour, defeating NBC's "Jay Leno" for the 3rd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5).

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 33% currently, from 27% 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), 10/7/09.





  [october 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· COUGAR TOWN (TBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· EASTWICK (ABC)
· GARY UNMARRIED (CBS)
· GLEE (FOX)
· HANK (ABC)
· JAY LENO SHOW, THE (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· MERCY (NBC)
· MIDDLE, THE (ABC)
· MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
· SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (FOX)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[07/27/26 - 10:59 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Scores Robust Year-Over-Year Gains with Festive Holiday Week
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for more than three years (179 consecutive weeks) across all key measures.

[07/23/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 on Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late Night
"20/20" was up over the previous week in all key target demos and improved year to year across the board.

[07/23/26 - 01:00 PM]
"Big Brother" Premiere Week Up +14% from Last Season
In its first week (episodes airing July 9, 12 and 15), "Big Brother" live plus 3-day total multiplatform viewership averaged 4.96 million viewers.

[07/22/26 - 01:19 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of July 13
"Ride or Die," "Elle," "Off Campus," "Every Year After," and "Clarkson's Farm" led all original series worldwide.

[07/22/26 - 12:37 PM]
Kansas City, Boston and Austin Lead the Way as Top Local Markets for FIFA World Cup 2026 on FOX and FS1
San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Atlanta, St. Louis, Providence, and West Palm Beach round out the top 10.

[07/22/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NBA Summer League Championship Game Since 2017
The Golden State Warriors' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies averaged 676,000 viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[07/21/26 - 04:03 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Delivers 2.639 Million for Seattle's Extra-Inning Win Over San Francisco
Viewership peaked with 3,383,000 viewers from 8:00-8:15 PM ET.

[07/21/26 - 03:22 PM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Etches Place in Record Books as Most-Watched Soccer Telecast in U.S. History With 38,937,000 Viewers
The record-breaking Final reached its dramatic peak with 51,685,000 viewers watching from 5:45 to 6:00 PM ET as Spain secured a 1-0 victory in extra time over Argentina.

[07/21/26 - 02:22 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most Watched Final Round of the Open Championship Since 2022
Sunday's audience peaked at 6.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 1:15-1:30 p.m. ET.

[07/21/26 - 02:03 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" Series Debut Tops 5 Million Total Viewers
On linear, "Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" was the No. 1 program of the night in both Total Viewers (4.42 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.47 rating).

[07/21/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of July 13 - "Little House on the Prairie" Journeys to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"The Hawk" - the sports comedy starring Will Ferrell as an infamous golf legend chasing a late-career comeback on the green - debuted in the No. 3 spot on the list, swinging to 4.8 million views.

[07/20/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Leads Broadcast Series in Multiplatform Viewing for the 2025-2026 Season
Against broadcast competition, CBS finishes the season with four of the top five series.

[07/17/26 - 03:12 PM]
FOX Sports' 15.088 Million Average Viewers for FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinals is Best in U.S. History
16.900 million viewers watched Argentina knock out England in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon on FOX.

[07/17/26 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late Night and Friday Evening
"20/20" improved on the year-ago telecast by double digits in all key target demos: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[07/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
FOX Sports Rings the Bell, Captures Most-Watched MLB All-Star Game Since 2018
Coverage reached a peak audience of 10,186,000 viewers from 8:45-9:00 PM ET.