ABC's Tuesday Grows Year to Year for 4th Straight Week

Some early points for ABC's Tuesday ahead of the regular press release.

Tuesday Prime (8-11pm): ABC grew over the year-ago Tuesday for the 4th week in a row, gaining 9% among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.3/6 on 3/3/09).

Lost (9-10pm): Opposite the second hour of Fox's 2-hour American Idol (Top 10 female performances) from 9-10pm, ABC's Lost surged over its lead-in by 4.9 million viewers (9.2 million vs. 4.3 million) and by 150% in young adults (4.0/10 vs. 1.6/4) and grew its numbers from start to finish (+3% in viewers/+5% in young adults). Despite CBS' (original NCIS) and NBC's (first hour of Biggest Loser) decided lead-in advantages coming into the time period, Lost defeated its non-Idol competition in the 9 o'clock hour by wide margins in Adults 18-49 (4.0/10), outpacing the second hour of NBC's 2-hour Biggest Loser by 25% (3.2/8) and CBS' original NCIS: LA by 29% (3.1/8).

� Lost finished as Tuesday's #1 scripted TV program for the 5th consecutive week in Adults 18-34 and among key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

A Special Edition of 20/20: Before They Were Famous (10-11pm): During the 10 o'clock hour, opposite NBC's highly-promoted throughout the Olympics series debut of Parenthood (also airing with limited commercial interruptions), a Special Edition of 20/20 improved the hour week to week for ABC in Total Viewers (+8% - 5.4 million vs. 5.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+6% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5), posting the Net's best time-slot results in 3 weeks � since 2/9/10.

Quick Take for Tuesday, March 2, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC is Up from the Year-Ago Tuesday in Adults 18-49 for the 5th Straight Week

Shooting Up from its Lead-in and Growing Throughout its Telecast, ABC's "Lost" Dominates its Non-"Idol" Competition in the 9 O'clock Hour in Adults 18-49

"Lost" is Tuesday's No. 1 Scripted Show in Adults 18-34 for 5th Week in a Row

ABC News' "A Special Edition of 20/20: Before They Were Famous" Improves Its Time Period in Viewers and Young Adults, with the Best Results in 3 Weeks

Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.) ABC grew over the year-ago Tuesday for the 5th week in a row, gaining 9% among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.3/6 on 3/3/09).

"Lost" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite the second hour of Fox's 2-hour "American Idol" (featuring Top 10 female performances) from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's "Lost" surged over its lead-in by 4.9 million viewers (9.2 vs. 4.3 million) and by 150% in young adults (4.0/10 vs. 1.6/4) and grew its numbers from start to finish (+3% in viewers/+5% in young adults). Despite CBS' (original "NCIS") and NBC's (first hour of "Biggest Loser") decided lead-in advantages coming into the time period, ABC's "Lost" defeated its non-"Idol" competition in the 9 o'clock hour by wide margins in Adults 18-49 (4.0/10), outpacing the second hour of NBC's 2-hour "Biggest Loser" by 25% (3.2/8) and CBS' original "NCIS: LA" by 29% (3.1/8).

� "Lost" finished as Tuesday's No. 1 scripted TV program for the 5th consecutive week in Adults 18-34 and among key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

"A Special Edition of 20/20: Before They Were Famous" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, opposite NBC's series debut of "Parenthood" (airing with limited commercial interruptions) which was highly-promoted throughout the Olympics, "A Special Edition of 20/20" improved the hour week to week for ABC in Total Viewers (+8% - 5.4 million vs. 5.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+6% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.7/5), posting the Net's best time-slot results in 3 weeks � since 2/9/10.

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 36% currently, from 30% 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), 3/2/10.