ABC Sunday Dramas Score Best Numbers since January

Some early info on ABC's Sunday drama premieres, ahead of the regular press release.

Opposite heavy competition on the night from sports-boosted CBS (NFL overrun) and NBC (Sunday Night Football) and Fox (back-to-back Family Guy premieres), ABC's seventh-season premiere of Desperate Housewives stood as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program. Housewives won its 9 o'clock time slot with all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), registering as Sunday's # 1 TV show on all 3 counts.

· Desperate Housewives built 5% among Adults 18-49 from up from where it finished out last season on its May finale, outperforming its 2010 May Sweep averages in both viewers (+6%) and young adults (+8%). Housewives drew its biggest audience and highest Adult 18-49 rating in nearly 9 months - since 1/10/10.

Opposite NBC's Sunday Night Football and CBS' special premiere of Undercover Boss, ABC's fifth-season premiere of Brothers & Sisters finished #1 in the 10 o'clock hour across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Like its lead-in, Brothers & Sisters picked up where it left off last season, outperforming its May 2010 averages by 8% in Total Viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49. In fact the ABC drama posted its highest Adult 18-49 number since January - since 1/10/10.

Quick Take for Sunday, September 26, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

7th-Season Opener of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Stands as Sunday's Most-Watched Entertainment Show and No. 1 Overall in Key Women Demos

"Housewives" Marks the Series' Strongest Results in Nearly 9 Months

On its 5th-Season Premiere, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" Leads its Hour in Key Women and Post its Highest Adult 18-49 Number Since Early January

"Brothers & Sisters" Builds on its Year-Ago Season Premiere in Overall Viewers

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite heavy competition on the night from CBS' football-boosted season premieres (from an approximate 47-minute primetime NFL overrun), NBC ("Sunday Night Football") and Fox (back-to-back "Family Guy" premieres), ABC's 7th-season premiere of "Desperate Housewives" stood as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program (12.8 million). "Housewives" won its 9 o'clock time slot with all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), registering as Sunday's No. 1 TV show on all 3 counts.

· "Desperate Housewives" was up 5% among Adults 18-49 from where it finished out last season on its May finale (4.2/10 vs. 4.0/10 on 5/16/10), outperforming its 2010 May Sweep averages in both viewers (+6% - 12.8 million vs. 12.1 million) and young adults (+8% - 4.2/10 vs. 3.9/10). "Housewives" drew its biggest audience and highest Adult 18-49 rating in nearly 9 months - since 1/10/10.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and CBS' special premiere of "Undercover Boss" in the time slot, ABC's 5th-season premiere of "Brothers & Sisters" finished No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "Brothers & Sisters" was up over its year-ago season opener among Total Viewers (9.6 million vs. 9.4 million), while retaining 100% of its Adult 18-49 delivery year to year (3.0/8). The ABC drama also built on last season's opener with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Like its lead-in, "Brothers & Sisters" picked up where it left off last season, outperforming its May 2010 by 8% in Total Viewers (9.6 million vs. 8.9 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/8 vs. 2.6/7). In fact the ABC drama posted its highest Adult 18-49 since January - since 1/10/10.

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 38% 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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 9/26/10.