Quick Take for Wednesday, February 10, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's Replay "A Charlie Brown Valentine" Posts its Best Numbers in 8 Years

Marking a Series High for the 2nd Straight Week, "The Middle" Wins at 8:30pm In Adults 18-49, Posting ABC's Top Scripted Number in the Slot in Over 2 Years

Growing Against "Idol," "Modern Family" Hits a Series High and Qualifies as Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show in Adults 18-49 for its 3rd Straight Airing

Building its Overall Audience Week to Week Against a Surging "Idol," "Cougar Town" is the No. 1 Scripted Show in its Slot in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

Jumping Week to Week Among Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's "Ugly Betty" Generates a Season High Among Adults 18-49

"A Charlie Brown Valentine" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

ABC's rebroadcast airing of "A Charlie Brown Valentine" ranked No. 1 at 8pm in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7), beating original competition including Fox's "Human Target" (2.4/7 � 2nd consecutive week for an ABC repeat to beat the Fox series), CBS' "Old Christine" (2.3/7) and NBC's "Mercy" (1.8/5).

� "A Charlie Brown Valentine" was up sharply over its year-ago telecast (Tuesday at 8pm on 2/10/09) in Total Viewers (+2.7 million � 7.5 million vs. 4.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+67% - 2.5/7 vs. 1.5/4), the PEANUTS special's best numbers in 8 years � since its 2/14/02 debut on ABC.

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

Marking a series high for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "The Middle" won the 8:30pm half-hour among Adults 18-49 (3.0/8), defeating the second half-hour of Fox's "Human Target" by 11% (2.7/7), CBS' "Gary Unmarried" by a best-ever 25% (2.4/7) and NBC's "Mercy" by 67% (1.8/5). In fact, the show turned in series-highs across all key Adult, Men and Women demographics.

� "The Middle" registered as ABC's highest-rated scripted telecast in the half-hour in more than 2 years among Adults 18-49 � since 11/14/07.

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

Surging from its lead-in by 40% at 9pm against "American Idol," ABC's "Modern Family" stood as the highest-rated scripted show in its half-hour for its 3rd straight airing among Adults 18-49, beating CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 14% (4.2/10 vs. 3.7/9). "Modern Family" also registered as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV program for its 3rd telecast in a row.

� Posting its 2nd-consecutive telecast of growth opposite "Idol," up 8% week to week, "Modern Family" matched a series-high in Adults 18-49. The ABC comedy also posted series highs with Adults 18-34, Women 18-34, key Men (M18-49/M25-54) and Teens 12-17.

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

Airing against a surging "American Idol," ABC freshman "Cougar Town" finished as the No. 2 scripted program in its half-hour among Total Viewers (6.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7) to CBS' veteran "Criminal Minds," while registering as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot with Adults 18-34 (2.6/7-tie) and Women 18-34 (3.2/8). In fact, "Cougar Town" finished as Wednesday's No. 2 scripted show with Women 18-34 for its 3rd straight telecast, behind only "Modern Family."

� Despite facing the second-half of "Idol," which was up sharply in the half-hour week to week, "Cougar Town" grew its overall audience week to week (+6% - 6.7 million vs. 6.3 million) and was also up in Adults 18-34 (+4% - 2.6/7 vs. 2.5/7) and across all key Men: +19% in M18-34, +9% in M18-49 and +8% in M25-54.

"Ugly Betty" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Ugly Betty" jumped week to week by 18% in Total Viewers (4.7 million vs. 4.0 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.4/4). "Betty" marked a season-high in the key young Adult sales demo.

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 35% currently, from 29% at the same point in 2009. 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), 2/10/10.