ABC Wins 3rd Straight Thursday in Adults 18-49/Grey's is #1 TV Show

Early points on last night ahead of the regular release for Thursday.

Please Note: As with Tuesday and Wednesday this week, post-season baseball coverage on TBS will be a competitive factor on Thursday night for the broadcasters and in week-to-week comparisons.

� Prime: ABC won Thursday night for the 3rd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (4.0/11), beating second-place CBS by 21% (3.3/9), third-place NBC with The Office wedding episode by 43% (2.8/8) and fourth-place Fox by 60% (2.5/7).

� 8-9pm: ABC freshman FlashForward delivered a solid second to CBS' Survivor in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9), leading Fox's veteran Bones by 7% (2.8/8), and NBC's comedies (Community time period premiere/Parks and Recreation) by 43% (2.1/6). FlashForward won its hour for the 3rd week in a row with Adults 18-34 (2.5/8).

� 9-10pm: Grey's Anatomy stood as Thursday's #1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13) for the 3rd straight week. Dominating the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's Grey's beat NBC's highly-anticipated The Office wedding by 18% (4.5/12), CBS' CSI by 56% (3.4/9) and Fox's Fringe by 152% (2.1/5).

� 10-11pm: ABC's Private Practice won the 10 o'clock hour for the 2nd consecutive week in Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), beating CBS' The Mentalist 16% (3.2/9) and NBC's Jay Leno by 118% (1.7/5).

Quick Take for Thursday, October 8, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Wins 3rd Straight Thursday of the Season in Adults 18-49

While NBC and CBS Decline Year to Year, ABC Retains 100% of its Adult 18-49 Audience and Grows in Adults 18-34 from the Year-Ago Night

"FlashForward" Delivers Strong Second in the 8pm hour in Adults 18-49, And Leads its Competitors for the 3rd Consecutive Week in Adults 18-34

Dominating the 9 O'clock Hour in Adults 18-49, "Grey's Anatomy" Qualifies as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show for the 3rd Week in a Row

No. 1 for the 2nd Straight Week, ABC's "Private Practice" Leads the 10pm Hour In Adults 18-49 and Beats the Combined Delivery of CBS and NBC in Adults 18-34

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

ABC won Thursday night for the 3rd week in a row among Adults 18-49 (4.0/11), beating second-place CBS by 21% (3.3/9), third-place NBC with "The Office" 1-hour wedding episode by 43% (2.8/8) and fourth-place Fox by 60% (2.5/7). The Net also won on the evening for the 3rd week running with Adults 18-34 and all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

� While CBS and NBC were both on the decline year to year with young adults, ABC retained 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience (4.0/11) and was up 6% with Adults 18-34 over the year-ago night (3.6/11 vs. 3.4/10 on 10/9/08).

"FlashForward" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC freshman "FlashForward" delivered a solid second to CBS' "Survivor: Samoa" in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9), leading Fox's veteran "Bones" by 7% (2.8/8), and NBC's comedy block ("Community" time-period premiere/"Parks and Recreation") by 43% (2.1/6). "FlashForward won its hour for the 3rd week in a row with Adults 18-34 (2.5/8). Building from its first half-hour to its second half-hour, the ABC freshman drama gained Viewers (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+10%) throughout its broadcast.

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

"Grey's Anatomy" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13) for the 3rd straight week. Dominating the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Grey's" beat NBC's highly-promoted "The Office" wedding episode by 18% (4.5/12), CBS' "CSI" by 56% (3.4/9) and Fox's "Fringe" by 152% (2.1/5).

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

ABC's "Private Practice" won the 10 o'clock hour for the 2nd consecutive week in Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), beating CBS' "The Mentalist" by 16% (3.2/9) and NBC's "Jay Leno" by 118% (1.7/5). Topping the combined delivery of CBS and NBC in the hour in Adults 18-34 (3.5/11 vs. 3.4/10), the ABC drama widened its margin of victory over CBS' "The Mentalist" to 94% (3.5/11 vs. 1.8/5), up from 83% the previous week.

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), 10/8/09.