Quick Take for Wednesday, September 1, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" Boosts ABC To Wednesday Summer Highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Despite Shifting to a New Night Against Stronger Competition, ABC's "CMA Music Festival" Builds Year to Year in Women 18-34 and Posts its Best Number Since 2007

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

Boosted by "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock," ABC hit Wednesday summer-highs in both Total Viewers (6.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.7/5).

· Despite moving from Monday to Wednesday night this year opposite stiff unscripted competition on the other nets, including CBS' "Big Brother," NBC's "America's Got Talent" and Fox's "Master Chef," ABC's "CMA Music Festival" grew by 6% year to year with Women 18-34 (1.8/6 vs. 1.7/5), posting its strongest performance in 3 years - since 2007.

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 37% currently, from 32% 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 Program Ratings), 9/1/10, or as dated.